Official Cleaning Up Yard After Complaints

Spurred by his neighbors’ complaints and an impending city inspection, Ventura County Board of Education member Al Rosen began cleaning up his Simi Valley yard Saturday.

“Whatever has to be done will be done,” Rosen said from his home on Texas Avenue. “This is just embarrassing.”

Aided by a backhoe operator, Rosen, 64, filled an oversized dumpster with vegetation and discarded items from his property, neighbors said. The dumpster will be emptied and filled again Monday, Rosen said.

The property, which some neighbors called a fire hazard and the city deemed a potential breeding ground for rats, will be cleaned up by Friday, Rosen said. He called his neighbors allegations “a bunch of malarkey.”

A retired substitute teacher, Rosen represents Simi Valley and Moorpark on the Ventura County School Board. “I like to give to my community,” he said.

His property “was not a priority,” Rosen said, because he spent most of his energy working on another project in downtown Simi Valley.

“I’d just come home and was too tired” to take care of it, he said. “The only thing different is instead of keeping it up I just let things grow. I just like nature.”

The city and some neighbors disagreed. “There have been complaints about him for years,” said John McCormick, 67, whose property backs onto Rosen’s.

The city of Simi Valley has threatened to cite Rosen if he did not clear the debris, which includes construction material and an old car. An inspection is planned for Monday, city officials said.

“He’s just getting rid of everything,” said Ann Hogue, who lives across the street from Rosen. Hogue said she had never seen evidence of rats near Rosen’s home and its overgrown looks didn’t bother her.

“He’s tearing out plants that will never be replaced,” she said. “I’d rather have them there than nothing at all.”

Rosen, who has worked on behalf of the Nature Conservancy, an environmental group, said the city directed him to dispose of the plants because they might harbor rats.

“By Friday everything will be normal here,” he said. “It will be as normal as anyone else’s house.”