The City Council unanimously approved raising daily penalties from $2,500 to a maximum of $20,000 for each ongoing code violation where neglected properties become breeding grounds for blight. The total amount of fines a property owner can accrue was raised from $100,000 to $500,000. The measures target overgrown vegetation, fire hazards, homeless encampments, crime, and vandalism associated with absentee-owned properties. The increases aim to create a meaningful financial incentive for compliance and prevent residents from bearing costs of property neglect. The changes follow years of longstanding blighted properties, including the Lawrence Hotel and the vacant First Church of Christ Scientist building tied to Z&L Properties.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved raising daily penalties from $2,500 to a maximum of $20,000 for each ongoing code violation in which neglected properties become breeding grounds for blight. This includes overgrown vegetation and other fire hazards, homeless encampments and elevated levels of crime and vandalism. Councilmembers also raised the total amount of fines a property owner can accrue from $100,000 to $500,000.
"These increases are designed to ensure that fines are not just the cost of doing business for wealthy absentee property owners, but a real incentive to comply with the law," Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who championed the proposal with Councilmembers Pamela Campos and Anthony Tordillos, said before the vote. "Our residents should not be forced to carry the cost of someone else's negligence."
After the vote, Ortiz told San José Spotlight this makes the city's blight fines "the highest in the state." A review of several California cities' municipal codes indicates administrative daily fines usually range from $1,000 to $2,500 per day. The city of Blue Lake's maximum daily fines can reach $5,000, according to its municipal code.
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