New Council Focuses on Cleaning Streets at First Meeting

Cleaning up Watsonville is top priority, the City Council expressed at Tuesday's meeting.

The meeting also marked the start of a new administration, . Members began the session by expressing goals for 2012. Top on the list were reducing gang violence which has been on the rise since the summer——and cleaning up the city in general.

But the meeting was largely focused on cleaning up the house at 21 Arthur Rd. The city council voted unanimously to hold a hearing Jan. 10 on whether to declare a home a a public nuisance.

City staff showed pictures of the property which has two unregistered cars sitting in the driveway. Neighbors have also complained that the backyard is so overgrown with bushes that its become home to rodents and other animals that terrorize their properties.

Council Member Emilio Martinez—and representative of District 6 where the house is located—expressed sympathy for the resident, though he voted to schedule the public nuisance hearing.

“I know the man personally. He has gone through some personal problems and I feel very bad for him,” said Martinez. “But with all due respect, city staff has bent over backwards to help him. I am talking going back to 3 years ago. It's a compounding problem and the neighbors are upset.”

City staff said they would normally declare the property a public nuisance under Municipal Code 5-17 at this point. Because it is occupied, however, they are giving the tenant the right to the hearing.

“What makes this different from most property abatement is that this property is occupied. I would really like to give this gentleman all of his legal opportunities.,” said a city staffer. “[We] have been working with the tenant, but have made no significant progress getting the man to clean up his property. It appears to be a hoarding problem.”

Council Member Lowell Hurst said that this situation should stand as an example that homes like this one lower the quality of life and property values for entire neighborhoods.

“I am not suggesting people rat out their neighbors, but its an issue of community awareness and civic pride,” said Hurst. “[Homes kept up] this badly could be a hazard to emergency workers if they tried to enter.”