City OKs 2 Slum-Housing Measures

Concerned about substandard housing in their suburb, city leaders Tuesday approved two measures aimed at eliminating squalid conditions.

On unanimous votes, the City Council ordered its attorneys to write a long-awaited slumlord ordinance in the next month and agreed to begin active code enforcement in troubled neighborhoods.

“I think we should send a very clear message tonight,” Councilman Andy Fox said. “Slumlords should be put on notice in the city of Thousand Oaks: There will be penalties and they will be severe and they will be swift.”

The actions come on the heels of a Times article describing continued code violations in the Old Town section of Thousand Oaks, involving the same property owners who were forced to clean up a virtual shantytown 10 months ago.

Councilwoman Linda Parks said the two measures were important preliminary steps, but added that she would like to see the city do much more to protect against unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions.

Parks said she would like to see a slumlord measure that allows city staffers to review code violations in-house and then levy daily fines against violators until repairs are made, as some cities do. Her colleagues agreed that such a provision could be useful.

“You can write up violations until you’re blue in the face, but unless you’re going to back that up with monetary fines, you’re not going to get anywhere,” Parks said before the council meeting. “You end up with a situation where you have repeat violations from people who aren’t even getting their wrists slapped. . . . Fining them gets real quick compliance, from what I’ve heard.”

At Fox’s request, a tough anti-slumlord ordinance designed to punish delinquent landlords with stiff fines and compile existing laws into one will now become a top priority. The council originally approved the concept last May after the shantytown was cleaned up but 10 months later the law is not written because a new city lawyer has not been hired yet.

What’s more, code enforcement will be beefed up on a rotating basis in neighborhoods with aging and neglected residences, at Councilwoman Judy Lazar’s suggestion.

She suggested that certain blighted areas receive extra code enforcement attention in six-month stints. This tactic has been used periodically since the early 1990s to clean up run-down areas in Thousand Oaks. Under current law, code-enforcement officers visit problem homes or apartments only if neighbors have complained.

City staffers will determine which neighborhoods should be targeted first, so there is no appearance of picking on certain areas.

The extra enforcement is not meant to be punitive, so landlords will be notified when their neighborhood’s number is up, Lazar said. They will also be told of programs to help rehabilitate older properties.

“A good-looking, well-maintained and stable housing stock requires effort, particularly as housing grows older,” she said. “I do think selective code compliance on a rolling basis is something we should try.”

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah was not at the meeting because she was recovering from minor surgery. She has previously backed stepped-up code enforcement throughout the city, not just in run-down areas.

Looking for other creative solutions to the city’s nagging housing problem, Lazar proposed that the Housing Issues Committee should: look at how other cities handle code enforcement; review an apartment survey to determine what properties are blighted enough to require city attention; review incentives the city could offer to encourage rehabilitation and redevelopment; and work with the housing group Many Mansions to acquire foreclosed properties. The committee would forward its suggestions to the City Council.

At four properties in the city’s Old Town section, code violations and possible safety hazards persist. The houses are plagued by mouse infestations, feral cats, plumbing problems and piles of debris. Landlords previously said they were unaware of any unsafe or illegal conditions at the houses, which could have been caused by tenants.

Owners of the 1940s-era homes also own a nearby lot that was essentially a squatter’s village last year. Before city officials cracked down on the shantytown, it was home to about 50 people.