L.A. Will Test Part of Bernardi Cleanup Plan

City Councilman Ernani Bernardi, spurred by numerous complaints from constituents and his own observations made during a tour of his San Fernando Valley district, won a partial victory Wednesday in his attempt to clean up eyesores in residential and commercial areas of the city.

Although Bernardi’s proposal to force property owners to tidy up or have cleaning crews do the job for a fee was rejected, the Building and Safety Department will incorporate some of his recommendations in its own proposed cleanup program.

That program would place an inspection satellite office in each council member’s district and increase the number of inspections conducted, according to Arthur Devine, chief of the conservation bureau of the Department of Building and Safety.

The city’s Building Code would also be amended to require the removal of such eyesores as trash containers stored in front yards or other visible locations, stacked lumber, household fixtures or equipment stored in front yards, and clotheslines hanging in front or side yards.

But city crews would not perform the services and bill the client.

Department officials recommended that the committee wait until later this year to evaluate the success of its new inspection program, which imposes mandatory fees on violators but does not provide the cleanup. If that program fails, then the last resort of “enforced maintenance” may be implemented, Devine said.

“The problem is, if we go out and do the work ourselves, it is going to be lengthy process, probably longer than it is right now,” Devine said.

Under the proposed program, inspectors would answer complaints and make random checks on property, Devine said. Currently, inspectors only respond to complaints.

Under the city’s Building Code, inspectors can warn and then cite property owners who maintain “an accumulation of weeds, vegetation, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rat harborages, stagnant water, combustible materials and similar materials or conditions that constitute fire, health or safety hazards.”

When owners resist the warning, their cases are referred to the city attorney’s office for prosecution, an often time-consuming procedure. The maximum misdemeanor penalty is $1,000. About 7,000 complaints are filed annually by Building and Safety inspectors.

Offered Idea in August

Bernardi first presented his cleanup motion to the City Council last August. The council submitted it to the Building and Safety Department for review. The department presented its report to the council’s Building and Safety committee, recommending that its own program be implemented instead.

The committee instructed the department to present a detailed report of its proposed program to City Council next month.

Bernardi said that he is particularly concerned over blighted business areas. He pronounced downtown Los Angeles “a disgrace.”

“With the climate and reputation of Los Angeles, we envision a spic-and-span city that’s clean and we want to live up to that image,” Bernardi said. “It may seem mundane, but it makes a big difference in our city’s image.”