Getting Answers : A Hazard, Orphaned By Its Owners

SCOTT STEINFELD, Newhall

A two-story frame and stucco home in my neighborhood has been abandoned since Jan. 17, 1994, the morning of the Northridge quake. Many contractors have surveyed the damage and concluded that the property must be torn down--that repair is not possible.

Several months after the earthquake, the still-full swimming pool started turning black from dirt. The walls surrounding the property had fallen down, allowing neighborhood children easy access. Children were not only playing in the yard but trying to break into the home to see the damage.

My concern for the safety of our children led me to the County of Los Angeles. After being shuffled from Building and Safety to Public Works to the Health Department, I became outraged that nobody seemed to want to help. I contacted Supervisor Michael Antonovich’s office and received sympathy but little assistance.

Finally, the Health Department told the owner--which by this point was the mortgage holder--that the pool needed to be drained and secured. One problem down, many to go. The property was a playground for children--albeit a playground full of broken windows, shattered light fixtures, nails, scraps of wood and other hazardous objects. The problem became worse when undesirables decided that this home was a good place to hang out.

After several more months of contacting the police, the County of Los Angeles and the the mortgage holder, the mortgage holder finally fenced off the property and boarded up the house. This created an eyesore that certainly helps depress property values.

The fence appears to be a satisfactory solution for the County of Los Angeles. It seems that as long as the house is boarded up, it can remain that way for eternity. Meanwhile, vandals have knocked down part of the fence and are still trying to break into the house. Children are climbing the fence and playing among the shattered glass and dangerous debris that was never cleaned up. The County is no longer willing to help.

There is no one left to turn to, which leads me to a question: Must children die from an injury on this property before the County of Los Angeles deems this house a public hazard and tears it down?

Editor’s note: Maryland-based Prudential Home Mortgage Co. declined to respond to repeated telephone calls and faxes concerning this damaged property.

L.A. County: The Owner’s Responsible

HARRY W. STONE

Director of Public Works

RONALD J. ORNEE

Deputy Director

In response Scott Steinfeld, who lives adjacent to the property in question, a code enforcement action was initiated by this department against the subject property on Oct. 5, 1994, to effect a cleanup of the premises and to restore the damaged residence to a safe and habitable condition or to demolish it.

A hearing was held before the Los Angeles County Building Rehabilitation Appeals Board on Feb. 15. The appeals board found that the property was substandard, declared the property a public nuisance and issued an order requiring the structure to be rebuilt to minimum code standard or demolished by March 22, 1995.

We conducted an investigation of the property on Aug. 7, 1995, and found that the property was clean and had been fenced and the structure and pool area had been barricaded to prevent unlawful entry. Therefore, the property was no longer an immediate danger to the public.

We have been communicating regularly with Mr. Steinfeld and have been in contact with the lender, Prudential Home Mortgage, to obtain their cooperation in abating the substandard conditions as quickly as possible. We will continue until this situation has been resolved.

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JO ANNE DARCY

Senior field deputy,

Supervisor Antonovich

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As much as I can empathize with Scott Steinfeld’s frustration about not gaining approval to remove the earthquake damaged home next to his, I also believe his facts are not quite accurate.

My office has been continually involved since Jan. 18 of this year, when we were first contacted, in answering inquiries and making calls to many agencies including Building and Safety, the Health Department, Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department and others.

The original owners had decided to abandon the property and the mortgage company could not give us an answer as to what they were going to do about the property or whose responsibility it was to do cleanup or removal. I made many calls to the agencies requesting posting, boarding, yard and pool clean up, rehab and safety provisions to secure the property. I also wrote several followup letters.

Again, a major stumbling block appeared to be the mortgage company, which could not decide whether it would demolish or not. As of Aug. 10 they were on hold pending a trustee sale.