Clearlake City Council offers additional time on assessment cases

CLEARLAKE – The Clearlake City Council's consideration of assessing penalties on a slate of code enforcement cases at its meeting last week turned into a lengthy and contentious session, with a property owner arguing that his essential property rights were being taken away.


The council had before it what has in recent years become a routine matter – the assessment of penalties on properties where the owners haven't complied with code enforcement notices of violation.


When property owners don't comply, the city will assess administrative penalties of $100 a day that max out at $2,500.


Each of the 10 properties on the council's agenda at its Feb. 11 meeting had a proposed $2,500 assessment against it, for a total of $25,000 that would be placed on the owners' property tax bills, city officials reported.


Councilman Chuck Leonard excused himself from the discussion because one of the properties was close to his home. By the time the matter was over and Leonard could return to the chamber, about two hours had passed.


The council quickly made decisions to assess penalties on several properties whose owners weren't in attendance.


Then they came to the 33rd Avenue properties owned by Charles Green.


Pictures of the property showed it had numerous vehicles parked on it, and that it appeared to be fenced with chainlink. The notices of violation demanded removal of inoperable vehicles and heavy equipment, and directed Green to enclose outdoor storage, remove trash and debris, and repair fencing.


Green stood at the podium and read from a lengthy document in which he quoted numerous legal cases on property rights in order to defend his land.


He said he's owned the properties since 1975, before the city was incorporated, and therefore the city lacks the authority to impose land use restrictions retroactively.


Green also alleged that the city's code enforcement documents constitute a bill of attainder, a form of legislation that seeks to take someone's property that is illegal in the United States.


He maintained that he has complete and absolute dominion over his property, and that code enforcement officers were mischaracterizing it as a nuisance. As a result, he argued that he was being denied equal protection under the law as required by US Constitution's 14th Amendment.


“I will file a federal lawsuit against the city of Clearlake for recovery of damages very soon,” he concluded.


City Administrator Dale Neiman said city staff followed state and local procedures for handling such cases. “What we did was proper and he had time to clean up the mess shown in the pictures.”


Councilman Curt Giambruno asked Green if he lived on the lots. He said yes, that his house sat on both. He said he collects antiques, including tools.


Green said he was told by a code enforcement officer that he needed to clean up trash, which he said actually included valuable tools. His home runs on solar energy, and a truck parked on the property is used to store some of the solar equipment.


“I'm sitting on a fence on this one,” said Councilman Roy Simons, who has been supportive of city cleanup efforts.


Simons suggested they bring in a neutral third party to help work it out. Neiman said they could put the matter off for 30 days.


Green at first seemed willing to work with the city, but with two people who had been sitting with him in the audience telling him not to agree to having a mediator involved, Green said, “I changed my mind, we'll take it to court.”


Community member Jeff Smith – not the county supervisor – told the council that they will have to pay for the code enforcement case against Green.


He said Green's home had been burglarized and $26,000 in old coins and other items were taken, and he accused the police of not returning Green's property out of retaliation.


“Eventually you're going to have to pay a price if you violate peoples' rights,” he said.


Local contractor Wayne Chatoff, who talked with Green briefly in the audience, offered his help to Green and the city in working out the matter. Joey Luiz, a member of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce Board of Director, also offered to volunteer some time to look at the situation.


Green said he wasn't agreeable to the idea. Council members asked him to reconsider.


“We're trying to work with you,” said Mayor Judy Thein, as Smith – standing beside Green in the audience – urged him against the offer and told him he would help him find an attorney.


At that point Chatoff got up, went to Green's side and said, “Mr. Green, this man is giving you some bad information,” and added that it would cost him too much money to go to court.


Neiman said if Green was agreeable, Chatoff and Luiz could look at his property and no action would be taken until they returned to the council. “You're not giving up any rights.”


Green said a few years ago while he was out of town the city had placed another $5,000 assessment on his property, and hadn't been willing to wait until he returned.


“You're after my money,” said Green, with Smith adding, “That's right.”


Giambruno said he would like staff to go back and look into the previous assessment against Green's property.


Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain said a man had been found passed out in a vehicle near Green's property some time ago, and he had several felony warrants against him. They found property in the man's vehicle which was inventoried.


“We never took any property that belonged to Mr. Green,” who McClain said he'd spoken with about the matter three times.


The council and Green agreed to receiving the help from Chatoff and Luiz.


The council then went on to to consider additional assessment cases. In three of those they agreed to take additional time to explore the situations before taking action.


In one of those cases, Lakeshore resident Bruce Ambrecht said he's owned his property 30 years and had numerous code enforcement encounters because he has parked heavy equipment for his business there.


He's recovering from a stroke, and the council agreed to give him until the summer time to get his property in order.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LCNews

Award winning journalism on the shores of Clear Lake. 

 

Search