FULLERTON : 350 Apartments to Be Inspected Yearly

The City Council approved plans to require mandatory annual building and health code inspections of almost 350 apartment units for the next three years as part of a program to rid five blocks of crime, drug activity and substandard housing.

The council’s 4-1 decision Tuesday authorizes ongoing inspections as part of the housing rehabilitation effort that is part of the city’s Operation Cleanup Program. Targeted are the 300 and 400 blocks of both West Valencia Drive and West Avenue, as well as the 2300 block of West Baker Avenue.

When the program began in October, 1990, city officials made initial inspections of the units, issued citations and required improvements. Although the efforts were successful, some apartments have fallen back into decline, said Jinny Barton, Fullerton’s senior code enforcement officer.

For example, an apartment unit was cleaned of an infestation of cockroaches and “a month later, the cockroaches are back,” Barton said, adding that regular inspections will ensure that apartments don’t fall back into disrepair.

Still, apartment owners are worried that overzealous code enforcement officers will find problems although no tenant has called to report a violation.

“There’s an assumption . . . the owner is guilty until proven innocent,” said Richard Lambros, director of public affairs for the Apartment Assn. of Orange County, who added that the organization has begun its own drive to encourage landlords to improve their properties.

Apartment owners called on the city to inspect apartments only when a tenant or neighbor has issued a complaint.

The sole dissenting vote was from Councilman Chris Norby, who said that “if you go into those areas looking for a code violation without a complaint, you are going to find them.” However, most council members said that stricter enforcement would prevent areas from becoming slums.

“We really want to prevent the spread of blight to adjacent units,” said Councilwoman Molly McClanahan.

The area has had crime and housing problems for over a decade, and council members said that it has been a nuisance for too long.

“To drop it now would be a waste of the time and money we’ve already spent,” said Councilman Richard C. Ackerman.

Even so, council members refused a proposal to charge each apartment owner $75 for every four units inspected. Such a charge would be an “unofficial assessment district” and burden on the owners, Norby said.

The cost of the inspections will come from the city budget.