DATE: September 24, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steve Brandau, Supervisor, District 2
SUBJECT: Proposed Amendment to the Ordinance Code of Fresno County, Adding Chapter 15.90, “Vacant Structures and Buildings” to Title 15, "Building and Construction”
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct first hearing to amend the Ordinance Code of Fresno County, Title 15, to add Chapter 15.90, “Vacant Structures and Buildings”; waive reading of the Ordinance in its entirety and set the second hearing for October 8, 2024;
2. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary in accordance with Government Code, Section 25124(b)(1).
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, which will add Chapter 15.90, “Vacant Structures and Buildings” to Title 15, “Building and Construction” to the Ordinance Code of Fresno County to require property owners to secure and maintain vacant structures and buildings within the unincorporated areas of Fresno County. The purpose and intent of this amendment is to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of County of Fresno residents by establishing a process for abating unsecured vacant buildings and structures and standards for property owners to secure vacant buildings and structures. Article 11, section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes the legislative body of a county to adopt ordinances for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Section 25845 of the California Government Code authorizes the legislative body of a county to establish procedures to abate a nuisance. The proposed amendments to the ordinance would declare unsecured vacant buildings and structures to be a public nuisance and authorize abatement through procedures and standards to secure vacant buildings and structures. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may determine not to approve the recommended actions; however, the current enforcement mechanisms for addressing unsecured vacant buildings and structures are inadequate to resolve unsecured vacant buildings that negatively affect public health and safety. Maintenance of unsecured buildings within the unincorporated areas would remain prohibited under existing public nuisance law and ordinance codes. However, the County would lack clear standards for property owners to secure vacant buildings and specific procedures to abate unsecured buildings within the unincorporated areas. As an additional alternative action, your Board may continue the actions with direction to County Counsel and other responsible County department staff to further revise the recommended ordinance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Inspection and enforcement efforts may incur such impacts or costs in the future, associated with enforcement of the proposed amendment to the ordinance, which may be partially offset by inspection fees and cost recovery mechanisms. Staff will monitor impacted county departmental budgets accordingly.
DISCUSSION:
The number of abandoned properties and vacant buildings, both commercial and residential, found in cities and counties through California has increased dramatically. The causes of the increase in abandoned properties and vacant buildings vary. These causes include changes in the economic conditions and regulatory environment in California, challenges faced by traditional agricultural and industrial industries throughout the state and the Central Valley, variations in consumer trends, and volatility in the housing market. Another driver of vacant properties is testamentary and intestate transfer of real property to heirs that are either unaware of the transfer or unable to maintain the newly acquired real property.
Abandoned properties and unsecured vacant buildings attract vagrants, trespassers, and can be a prime location for illegal activities. Improperly secured vacant buildings are vulnerable to being set on fire by vagrants and trespassers and unmaintained dead or dying vegetation and weeds are a fuel source for such fires. Vacant buildings are targets for illegal dumping and the accumulation of waste and debris, which can become a vector for rodents, insects, other pests, and disease. Vacant buildings are also an attractive nuisance for children and may pose hidden dangers to trespassing children. These conditions negatively affect the surrounding neighborhood and depress property values and are a source of blight. Both the rural and urban areas of the unincorporated areas of Fresno County experience incidents of abandoned properties and vacant buildings and the associated negative consequences. However, the impact of vacant buildings is felt more acutely in the urbanized areas. The dangers and negative conditions of unsecured vacant buildings are threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Fresno County.
Currently, vacant buildings are subject to enforcement under Chapter 15.32, Title 15 of the Ordinance Code of Fresno County (“Ordinance Code”), as a condition of substandard buildings and housing. As such, the County abates these conditions generally as a public nuisance through the public nuisance abatement procedures found in Chapter 1.16, Title 1 of the Ordinance Code. However, the current ordinances and enforcement mechanisms lack clear standards for property owners to properly secure vacant buildings and structures. The current enforcement mechanisms also lack specific procedures for the County to abate unsecured buildings after a demand from a property owner to do so and the method to properly secure vacant buildings.
The proposed ordinance declares vacant buildings and structures to be a public nuisance and subject to abatement. The proposed ordinance establishes clear standards for property owners to properly secure vacant buildings and requires property owners to provide a plan for the rehabilitation and return of the property to productive use. The ordinance further establishes specific procedures for the County to demand property owners secure vacant buildings and, if necessary, abatement action by the County. These procedures include for inspection and reinspection to ensure a vacant building is properly secured and provides for inspection fees to be charged property owners. The proposed ordinance incorporates the nuisance abatement procedures found in Chapter 1.16, Title 1 of the Ordinance Code and provides for cost recovery against property owners for the abatement costs the County may incur to secure vacant buildings.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
On file with Clerk - Ordinance Summary
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino