Run-down homes on rise

Costa Mesa is blaming the weak economy and the foreclosure crisis for the significant increase it’s seen this year in the number of dilapidated houses around town and illegal advertising signs on major traffic arteries, according to a report compiled by the city.

Code enforcement officers investigated more than 20,600 cases in 2008 — up 9% from last year — as many vacant homes have gone without necessary maintenance. The city has also seen an increase in the number of businesses with illegal signs and billboards out front, especially in the retail strip of Newport Boulevard.

“It’s just one of those things. Because the economy is in the dumper, people are letting their houses deteriorate,” said code enforcement supervisor Jim Golfos.

The department even invested in a service to track foreclosed homes in the area a few months ago and report them to the department so that officers can regularly go out and inspect them to make sure empty swimming pools aren’t growing algae and blight isn’t developed.

Eastside resident Todd Marsh lives next to a half-finished house that has been fenced off for a long time because the homeowners say they don’t have the money to complete the construction.

Marsh says that it’s a blemish on the neighborhood, and that if he ever wanted to sell his house, he would have a hard time selling it for what it is worth.

“Houses like that have a definite negative impact, and in a down market it’s magnified,” Marsh said.

Stefanie Keeler, who owns the house in question with her husband, says she just doesn’t have the money to finish construction.

They bought the property more than a decade ago and in 2005 decided to split it into two parcels. The plan was to build houses on both, and then sell one to finance the other.

She even found a buyer willing to pay $1.65 million for the house she wanted to sell near the peak of the market, but the construction didn’t finish on schedule, she said.

“The house didn’t finish on time, and then the market dove so the buyer backed out,” Keeler said, leaving her with a mountain of debt and no alternative but to let the bank foreclose on the property.

There was some debate about the issue at a City Council study session Tuesday night.

Councilman Gary Monahan suggested looking into more aggressive enforcement measures, especially targeting illegal living quarters in garages, backyards and such.

Monahan asked that staff look into the possibility of bringing back a policy of having code enforcement officers going door-to-door in neighborhoods to check for violations.

“There are some real obvious things out there, and we need to be proactive in dealing with them,” Monahan said.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley and Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece both said the city needed to be careful not to concentrate too much on citing and fining residents and businesses — even if they have minor code violations — given the slow economy.

Foley thinks the city might be able to prevent buildings from staying vacant and deteriorating if officials look into alternative temporary uses for them. For instance, a big commercial lot could be rezoned temporarily to accommodate an outdoor ice skating rink, she said.

“I think the city needs to work with the property owners, especially some of these large commercial properties that aren’t going to see tenants any time soon because of the economy,” Foley said. “It doesn’t help just to hand out citations.”

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].