Riverside County Code Enforcement
August 2008
Volume 2, Issue 8
The Posting
A TLMA Code Enforcement Monthly Newsletter
Nuevo Community Cleanup & Tire Collection Event
Director Jay E. Orr
Community residents lined up
as early as 6:30 a.m. to unload
household trash that had been
illegally dumped along Ramona
Expressway, as well as the
open fields of the Juniper Flats,
Nuevo, and Lakeview
communities. Code
Enforcement staff were eager
to assist residents in the
removal of unwanted tires and
waste. Not only were these
residents provided with an
opportunity to dispose of their
waste, but thanks to
Community Improvement
Specialist Sue Rush, local
residents were educated on
new county ordinances,
Household Hazardous Waste
& Tire collection events, and
property maintenance. Code
Enforcement Officer Jennifer
There were 311 tires
removed from all three
communities combined!
Morris assisted with traffic
control and bin monitoring to
ensure that hazardous waste
was not disposed of at this
event. Waste Management Inc.
donated and delivered 19 bins
for this event. Cleanups such
as these, provide an
opportunity for residents to
come into compliance.
Chaka Osborne-5
“Your Department and Supervisor Marion
Ashley’s office has done great things for our
small communities of Nuevo, Lakeview, and
Juniper Flats”. Thank you Code
Enforcement!- Mr. John Linch
What’s Inside:
From Trash to Gardens
Marine Drive Cleanup 2
In Code Enforcement, we
strive to achieve voluntary
compliance. In working with
Community Improvement
Programs and Impact Plans,
we offer all available resources
to help bring property owners
into compliance. In most cases
we are able to bring everything
to a happy ending. For
example, on the morning of
May 6, using Dakeno
Demolitions, we were able to
bring the property seen in
these photos into compliance.
Make a Difference
2
Did You Know?
3
Sign of the Times
3
Tire Collection Event
Mead Valley
4
Home Gardens
Cleanup
5
Ordinances 880 & 881
6
CIS Grace Escobar counts tires &
inspects vehicles for hazardous waste.
BEFORE
19 bins; 55.20 tons of waste removed
from Nuevo, Lakeview, & Juniper Flats.
thing they could have done. In
fact, upon a follow-up visit, we
found the property owner
planting a garden and enjoying
the clean space.
Ken King-2
AFTER
Even though the property
owner was hesitant at first
about the abatement, in the
end, the property owner
admitted that this was the best
Page 2
The Posting
Volume 2, Issue 8
Eleventh Hour Voluntary Compliance
BEFORE
AFTER
The property on Fisher Street
in Good Hope has been
abandoned for several years.
On the property there were
three dilapidated mobile
homes, a pre-fabricated barntype roof structure erected on
warehouse racks, and an
improper foundation. Also
on-site, was a large amount of
scattered rubbish and several
inoperative vehicles. In June
2007, Code Enforcement
performed an initial inspection
and the proper notices were
posted. During the inspection,
several area residents
approached Code Officer T.
McMullen to convey how
delighted they were to see
action being taken. Most could
not remember the property to
have been occupied, but all
considered it to be a source of
transient and criminal activity
for many years. Notices
mailed to the property owner
went unheeded. In January
2008, the matter went to a
public hearing before the
Board of Supervisors and the
property was declared a public
nuisance. In April 2008, just a
few weeks shy of County
abatement, the owner stepped
up and removed all violations
from the property. When
asked if he received his original
notices, he said, “Yes, but
could not respond ‘til now”.
Apparently, he finally realized
the County was serious about
the negative effects these
violations had on local
neighbors!
Tom McMullen-5
Marine Drive Cleanup in District III
Code & Sheriff’s Department staff
pitched in to shovel & rake weeds out
of short block of Marine Drive.
“The trash people don’t pick up the big
items so it’s great that you all are here
helping out. It makes the community
look better.”- Karyn Bearde-resident
The Marine Drive Cleanup,
which took place on
Wednesday, June 11, was
coordinated by Riverside
County Sheriff Department –
Hemet Station. Now under
new management, many
residents moved out and left
behind garbage, furniture, and
rubbish. These occupants had
been directed to clean their
properties and get rid of
excessive storage in order to
remain a resident of this
neighborhood. A couple of
months prior to the Cleanup,
Code Enforcement was
approached by Corporal
William Edwards, from the
Sheriff’s Department , to
determine how our department
could assist them with the
clean up of properties on
Marine Drive. Many of the
residents did not have a way to
transport their items to the
bins. Thanks to the use of the
Code Enforcement truck,
everyone who needed help
received it. The Sheriff’s
Department and Code
Enforcement worked hard all
day loading and unloading
truckloads of furniture and
garbage. The community was
very thankful! Becky Mitchell &
◊
CDF cleared the alleys of
weeds and debris the day
before the Cleanup.
◊
Environmental Health is working on the pooling of water in
the alleys.
◊
Graffiti Busters painted the
brick cul-de-sac walls to cover
up old graffiti and to give the
wall a uniform color.
Michael Sanders-3
Make a Difference!
Ways to Beautify the Environment
1.
2.
3.
4.
Wherever you live, work, or travel - don't litter!
Curb your dog and pick up waste
Carry a litterbag in your car and/or boat
Keep beaches, parks, and roadsides clean
The Posting
Volume 2, Issue 8
Page 3
DID YOU KNOW?
•
Code Enforcement offers the Junk Your Clunker Program to assist residents with the removal and disposal
of their unwanted vehicles.
•
You need at least five acres of improved (graded) property with a residence in order to keep one metal
storage container on your lot.
•
Over 112,000 wrecked vehicles have been abated in Riverside County since the creation of the
Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Service Authority in 1993.
For more information on these topics or other Code Enforcement issues, please contact your local Code
Enforcement Office (see page 6)
James Monroe, Administration
Sign of the Times
High fuel costs, foreclosures,
and green swimming pools are
becoming more common as
the economic hard times
continue to plague California.
Our own Riverside County has
experienced its fair share of
such fallout over the last
several months. The concern
has sparked the need for a new
County ordinance to address
the lagging housing market and
the number of “walk away
properties” that are showing
up. One of these properties
was called in to District 1 Code
office recently and was
identified as a foreclosed home
that was vacant in the
Temescal Valley area. It was
reported that there was a
swimming pool full of green
water in the backyard and that
the fence was unsecured.
Concerns about breeding
mosquitoes and a danger to
children that lived in the area,
prompted Officer Mano
Molina to treat this matter as a
“priority one” call. Upon his
arrival, Mano found the green
pool in the backyard of a
beautiful home in a very nice
neighborhood. With the
assistance of Riverside County
Environmental Health, and the
bank that had recently taken
over the home, the dangerous
conditions were corrected and
fencing secured. As we move
into another So. Cal summer,
Riverside County Code
Enforcement officers are
routinely utilizing the new
Ordinances 880 and 881 to
address this current problem.
BEFORE
AFTER
Greg Flannery-1
Inoperable Vehicles in Mesa Verde
The Code Enforcement desert
office has been actively
working the unincorporated
community of Mesa Verde.
Mesa Verde is primarily a
residential community
comprised of mobile homes on
residential lots. Our
department has been
proactively investigating
multiple violations within the
community for public eyesore
issues. One particular case has
been out of compliance for the
last few years, and our
department has tried to seek
voluntary compliance through
the Junk Your Clunker
Program. As a result, a number
of inoperative vehicles were
voluntarily removed and some
of those vehicles had to be
towed. Our department
attempted to establish contact
with the property owner, but
the site was secured and
abandoned.
As we gained access to the
site, an old SUV, as well as
several others, were removed.
In addition to inoperative
vehicles, our department
cleared the area of rubbish and
substandard housing issues.
This inoperative vehicle case
has been corrected, and the
entire process took about one
year to bring the property into
compliance.
Overall, Code Enforcement
has been successful in
removing a couple dozen
vehicles from yards and rightof-ways in Mesa Verde over
this past year alone!
George Gianos-4
Page 4
The Posting
Volume 2, Issue 8
Riverside County Waste Tire Collection Event
Riverside County Waste
Management Department
received a grant from the
California Integrated Waste
Management Board , which
allows them to coordinate Free
Kathleen Utter of Waste Management Tire Collection Events (Tire
Dept. informs a community member. Amnesty Days). The most
recent event on Saturday, June
21, 2008, was a one-day event
held in Mead Valley, which was
opened to all residents from
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 (noon). As
always, the Mead Valley
Community Center continued
to show its support by allowing
the use of its facility, the
assistance of its awesome staff
and recruitment of volunteers.
A community member dropping The community showed both
off his tires his way!
its appreciation of the event
and its eagerness to participate.
“Thank you Riverside County for
Though the event was
having this! We just moved into the
scheduled to start at 8 a.m., the
community and the previous tenants left
community was all geared up
a mess that we are in the process of
and lined up by 7 a.m.!
cleaning up. Since we just moved in we
do not have the $500 to spend to get a
big bin, and did not know what to do
with the tires. Then a neighbor told us
of this event. “Thank you” to Waste
Management (Dept.) for hosting today’s
event and “Thank you” to Code Enforcement for providing resources to
help remove the rest of the garbage and
debris. – MV Resident
Code Enforcement Officers
Joe Feliciano and Jose Cruz
were on hand to address
community concerns and
enforce State law regarding
proper transporting of tires.
Furthermore, Community
Improvement Specialist Angela
Boone-Porcher provided
educational materials to
participants detailing programs,
services, and resources offered
to this community by the Code
Enforcement Department, the
local waste hauler, and other
County agencies.
Kathleen Utter of Waste
Management Dept. and Joe
Feliciano of Code Enforcement
discuss logistics.
Angela Boone-Porcher-1
143 Vehicles Serviced =
28,072 lbs
of tires removed from the
Mead Valley community
Tires
removed from private properties, roadways,
illegal dumping locations, dirt roads, and other parts of
the community totaled:
1 Truckload = 622 tires
3 Bins = 654 tires
Grand Total of 1,276 tires
were collected and hauled away for free !!
Voluntary Compliance in Lakeland Village
BEFORE
AFTER
Last month, Officer Brett
Farlow received a call for a
property that had five
substandard structures on it.
The structures were open and
vacant and were vandalized
with graffiti. Officer Farlow
knew the area and was aware
that this property was close to
the Lakeland Village Middle
School. With that in mind, he
determined that this property
was an “Attractive Nuisance”
to minors and needed to be
dealt with immediately.
Officer Farlow started the
process to have the violations
abated by the property owners,
and once he was able to
identify the property owners,
he made personal contact with
them over the telephone.
Officer Farlow explained the
danger in allowing the property
to be open and vacant with its
close proximity to the middle
school, and the responsibility
that the owners have should a
child become injured or
harmed in any way while on
the property. Brett offered
assistance to the property
owners and advised that the
abatement process could
involve substantial penalties if
the violations were not
corrected in a timely manner.
Brett’s genuine concern for the
school kids convinced the
property owners to take
immediate action and make the
property safe. The property
owner went one step further
and removed all five
substandard structures on the
property and made it safe.
Greg Flannery-1
The Posting
Volume 2, Issue 8
Page 5
Home Gardens Community Cleanup Event
The Home Gardens
Community Cleanup, held on
Saturday, June 21st, was
promoted all day at the Code
Enforcement Improvement
Fair, which was held only three
weeks earlier. In order to get
the word out about this event,
Code officers and staff
canvassed the Home Gardens
residential and commercial
areas weeks prior to the
Cleanup. The community was
pleased to see us in the streets
and came out to greet us and
obtain information about the
event. As a result, we saw
many new faces at this Cleanup
in comparison to the last one.
Code was able to secure
permission from the local
churches to use their parking
lots for the Cleanup. For
better traffic control,
Transportation Dept. provided
Code with the cones and
barricades necessary to close
the frontage road along
Magnolia. Despite 113˚ heat,
126 loads of trash from the
community filled the bins.
Some of these loads consisted
of materials from the
demolition of illegal
construction. By the end of
the day, people were seen
walking their trash or hauling it
to the event in makeshift
trailers. This Cleanup was a
success to this community,
which resulted in 12 full rolloff bins with 28.62 tons of
trash and the servicing of 126
vehicles! Angel Olivo-2
TOP, The last two customers of
the day walked their unwanted
mattresses to the Cleanup.
LEFT, Resident Ricardo Rodriguez
cleared his property of dry brush
and old unwanted mattresses and
doors; a load twice the height of
Code Technician Etita Faiva.
Travel Through Your Storm Drain
Runoff is rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through
the ground. As runoff moves, it picks up and carries
away natural and human-made pollutants into the storm
drain system, which disposes into lakes, rivers, wetlands,
and oceans.
Runoff flows are commonly impacted by the excess use
of fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, oil, grease, sediment
bacteria and nutrients from residential, agricultural, and
commercial areas. In addition, these pollutants have a
harmful effect on drinking water supplies, recreation,
fisheries, and wildlife.
The function of a storm drain system is to prevent
flooding and draw natural water flows to local water
bodies that enrich our water supply and ecosystem!
Flo Mowrer, Flood Control
What can be done about preserving and protecting our
clean water availability?
Each and everyone of us can help by practicing conservation
and by changing certain everyday habits!
Consider:
*
Picking up droppings left by your pet, and disposing in the
trash can
*
Sweeping up all trash and debris
*
Ending the over-irrigation of lawns and landscape
*
Using pesticides and herbicides sparingly
*
Using non-toxic alternatives to hazardous chemicals
*
Regularly maintaining vehicles from leaks and drips
*
Checking with your water agency for pool discharge laws
*
Conserving your water use, making every drop count
Additional information and tips can be found at www.rcflood.org
STOP pollutants from entering the storm drain,
Call 1-800-506-2555 to REPORT ILLEGAL DISPOSALS
Riverside County Code Enforcement
Ordinance 880 in Riverside County
The Board of Supervisors has
passed an emergency
ordinance, Ordinance 880,
effective May 13, 2008, which
affects residential properties in
the unincorporated areas of
Riverside County. These
properties, left unmaintained,
can lead to a decline in
property value, danger to
children as attractive nuisances,
opportunities for secretive
criminal conduct including
gang and drug crimes,
squatters, and real estate fraud.
Code Enforcement Director
Jay E. Orr made the decision
to provide a forum for
members of the financial and
real estate communities to
Stay Cool this Summer
◊ Drink plenty of water. Avoid
alcohol and caffeine!
◊ Wear lightweight, light-colored,
loose clothing.
◊ Wear a wide-brimmed hat, or use
an umbrella for shade.
◊ If you do not have an air
conditioner, use a fan. Make sure
your windows are open.
◊ Never leave a person or animal
alone in a vehicle during high
temperatures.
◊ When it is hotter than 90°, visit a
friend with air conditioning or a
cool place like a mall, a library or
senior center:
http://www.riversidecounty.redcro
ss.org/article.aspx?a=839
National Annual Night Out
Against Crime
Saturday, August 02, 2008
At Heritage High School in Romoland
From 3 PM to 7 PM
come together and have an
open dialogue about this
ordinance, the concerns of the
county, and to provide open
discussion. This public forum
took place on June 27, 2008, in
the Board of Supervisors’
assembly room. The purpose
of the meeting was to provide
information of the ordinance,
registration, and enforcement
requirements. This also
provided an opportunity for
the public to ask questions and
provide input on the
implementation concerns.
Nearly 100 representatives
from the leading financial, real
estate, title companies, and
other members representing
the industry participated in this
meeting. Deputy Director
John Boyd opened the forum
with introductions of the
management team (Ward
Komers, Jim Monroe & Tracey
Towner), followed by a
presentation by Code
Enforcement providing a
realistic perspective of the
problem. Lisa Traczyk,
Deputy County Counsel,
walked through the key
requirements of the ordinance.
Questions and comments from
the participants lasted almost
an hour and several
commented on their
appreciation for the event.
Beth Crawford-Admin Services
We welcome you to visit our website at
www.rctlma.org/ce where you can:
•
•
•
•
View The Posting in English and Spanish
Download Code Enforcement flyers & brochures
Report a violation
Tell us how we’re doing…we’d love to hear from
you (such as suggestions on articles & information
you would like to see in The Posting)
Code Enforcement
District Office Numbers
District 1 (951) 245-3186 District 2 (951) 275-8739
District 3 (951) 600-6140 District 4 (760) 343-4150
District 5 (951) 485-5840
CODE ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
4080 Lemon Street, 12th Floor
Riverside, CA 92502
Phone: 951-955-2004
Editors’ Corner
Grace Escobar
(951) 955-1895
[email protected]
Dawn Burnett
(951) 955-0106
[email protected]
CORRECTION: In the
July 2008 Issue, page 3,
“Addressing Neighborhood
Concerns” we gave credit to
District I, when in reality
the credit to this story is for
District III! Officer Roy
Rider is in District 3, NOT in
District 1!