LAGUNA BEACH : City Weighs Putting Liens on Tax Bills

Out more than $400,000 for clearing debris from lots burned in the massive Oct. 27 fire, the city is considering placing liens on fire victims’ property tax bills if they don’t pay for the cleanup.

The City Council, responding to what Deputy City Manager Cindy King called a “rather critical issue,” will hold a public hearing Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to consider the assessment and allow property owners to protest the charge.

King said the city sent 282 invoices to fire victims reminding them of the debt, but only 98 of them reimbursed the city.

Mystic Hills property owner Adele Hofmann said she paid as soon as she received the recent notice. “This is just a question of a couple thousand bucks for the debris removal or cleanup,” she said.

Immediately after the Oct. 27 fire, which damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes in and around Laguna Beach, the city hired crews to remove hazardous waste such as paint, propane and asbestos from the ravaged lots at a cost of $612 per property owner.

Later, the city gave property owners the choice of removing the remaining debris themselves or having the city clear the lots under the provisions of the city’s nuisance abatement law. The vast majority of people allowed the city to do the job.

The cost to residents was $2,000 to $4,000, depending on the size of the lot and how difficult it was to clean, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said. Such costs are generally covered by private insurance companies, he said. For those who could show they had no insurance, the city waived the charges.

Hofmann said she and her neighbors let the city do the work because the cost seemed reasonable and the displaced homeowners were “in a state of numbness” at the time.

“After you lose your house, you’re in sort of a state of, ‘What do I do and where do I begin?’ ” she said.