LAGUNA BEACH : City to Bill Property Owners for Cleanup

Hoping to recover money spent clearing lots after the October firestorm, the city will place special assessments on the property tax bills of lot owners who have not sought reimbursement from their insurance companies on the city’s behalf.

While vowing to “bend over backward” to cooperate with the fire victims, the City Council voted unanimously Thursday to insist that property owners help shoulder the financial burden.

As of June 30, the city was out more than $400,000 it spent to clear hazardous waste from the burned lots and later to remove other debris. Since then, more residents have paid.

If the lot owners’ insurance companies reimburse them between now and December, Deputy City Manager Cindy King said the property owner can simply pay the special assessment when it comes due.

The assessment would become a lien on the lot owner’s property only if it is not paid with the normal property tax bill, she said.

The city has taken steps to cooperate with the residents on this issue, but the reimbursement has caused some confusion partly because the city first intended to bill the insurance companies itself but then learned the bills had to be submitted by the property owner.

The city waived the fee for people who were uninsured. In those cases, the city hopes to get reimbursed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will not reimburse the city without proof that the property owner is uninsured or that full reimbursement was not received.

Immediately after the fire, the city hired workers to clear hazardous waste from the lots and billed property owners $612 per lot for the work. The city then offered fire victims the option of clearing the remaining debris from their properties or having the city do it.

Most people chose to let the city do the work. The cost to residents was $2,000 to $4,000, depending on the size of their lot and the difficulty of clearing it, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said.

King said she sent notices to 282 people telling them they owed the city for the work.

A half-dozen fire victims addressed the council at Thursday’s meeting. Most protested the $612 charge for hazardous waste cleanup. Some complained at being charged a flat rate when they felt they had little or no hazardous waste on their lots.

“This $612 just blows me away,” John Rattelman said.

Rattelman said he was frustrated that he would be expected to pay as much as residents with much larger lots.

But Frank said the charges were justified, whether or not the lot owner had hazardous materials--such as paint, asbestos oil or propane--on the property.

“We still had to go through the rubble and take a look to see if there was hazardous material,” he said.

The council also agreed to help residents work with their insurance companies and to mail them another notice advising them of the situation.

“I think it’s important to bend over backward and explain things to people,” Councilwoman Kathleen Blackburn said.