Should the city impose heavy fines and liens on downtown
building owners who fail to upgrade their property to earthquake
safety standards?
THIS WEEK’S WEB POLL:
Should the city impose heavy fines and liens on downtown building owners who fail to upgrade their property to earthquake safety standards?
Yes:6 No: 5
â– Yes! When the big one hits we want to make sure that customers in those buildings are not hurt.
â– YES, fine the pants off them so they comply with building code.
â– Yes. Deterioration of the downtown begins with vacant landlords. Look up the road from us in Morgan Hill to see what a revitalized downtown should be.
â– It’s a frustrating and dangerous situation, but I hate to see government’s heavy hand. I’d rather see a collaborative approach that involves the blocks for each situation.
■No and yes. I believe there should be liens but at this time not heavy fines. Originally the fine was $10k per month – this is unreasonable for this economy.
â– NO! I think HEAVY is the wrong way to go. Given today’s economy and the availability of funding/financing for projects such as retrofitting, the outlook for such work is probably poor at best. On the other hand the majority of URM building owners have known their status for at least 20 years. If something were to happen, like a building collapsing onto the sidewalk during an earthquake, and person(s) injured, attorneys would have a field day with property owners and the city. Maybe the best solution is for the city to contract the demolition as one big project, to get the best cost efficiency, and lien the properties for the cost. What replaces demolished buildings opens a whole new discussion.
â– They should condemn them and tear them down. I have a high level of frustration with these owners and their holding downtown buildings hostage. Yes, I realize they are under water in many cases – but these owners won’t even spend a few dollars to take down torn awnings and cover up their spaces with a display. Enough is enough.
â– No. Fines would only further depress the downtown market. The city should expand the incentive-based programs for downtown so that when the market does improve, there will be fewer obstacles to redevelopment.
â– First they should remind them to do it before a certain date. If they don’t, then fine them for each day they are delinquent in not getting it done.
â– No. Reasonable fines, yes. They may not be responding to the order to fix because they do not have the money. Why create a double whammy when the end result will not happen as needed in that case?
â– It should be marked before you head into the store that it’s not earthquake safe and you would have to shop at your own risk. We live in an earthquake zone and these business owners are going to lose everything when another big one hits us. If there are rules that state the buildings are supposed to be retrofitted and up to code then, that is a whole other story. Fix it or get fined!
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