My husband has been to the Gilroy city office twice trying to
find out how to get the property cleaned up next door to us at 1648
Crest Hill Way.
“My husband has been to the Gilroy city office twice trying to find out how to get the property cleaned up next door to us at 1648 Crest Hill Way. It has been empty since November or December. We live on a nice street. We also had to call Vectra out to monitor the pool. Of course no one can find out which bank has the house. The city told us that we were welcome to go out there and clean up the yard ourselves, but that is not our responsibility. My husband is dying of cancer. He’s 72. I’m so disgusted on how banks or realtors can leave property looking like this. Who’s responsible? Does the city have an ordinance to clean up the property and charge the bank?”
and …
“I am wondering about a house on 6920 Rosanna St. I believe it is empty and the weeds are taking up the whole yard. I am wondering who is responsible for taking care of this yard.”
and …
“The property at 6920 Rosanna St. has weeds that are two to seven feet tall. It is bank owned. I have called the bank and city but with no luck. Now with the drier months coming, this house is a potential structure fire waiting to happen. It has been vacant for a year. Please, someone help.”
and …
“I am calling about the house behind me at 799 Ramona Way. I am really tired of the way it looks. My back yard is getting rats, mice, possums and raccoons. They all hang out at that back yard. It is full of leaves and weeds and all kinds of stuff. I would like to know who owns this house so we could get this place picked up.”
Red Phone: Dear Help For Homes, The city does take a look at properties when it receives reports of overgrown areas or blight. If the area is deemed a hazard, the city will notify the property owner that the area needs to be cleaned up. But in some cases, the property owner is unable to be found or the property is owned by a bank.
“In order to do abatement on a property where the owner has abandoned it, we are still required to notice the property owner as is shown on the assessors records,” said Gilroy Fire Marshall Jackie Bretschneider. “And then if no compliance occurs there has to be a public hearing process to approve the abatement.”
The city currently contracts with the county to have properties abated – a process that takes some time to complete.
“However if we get information about a realtor, broker or bank as handling the property we will send them the notice as well,” Bretschneider said. “We often are successful in getting action from them.”
The property on Crest Hill was inspected a couple months ago and was not found to be a hazard at that time, Bretschneider said. But she said the city will take a look at it again and then if it is a hazard will notify the bank or begin the abatement process.
The home on Rosanna that Red Phone received two calls on is owned by Bank of America, and the city will send a notice to the bank to have them clean it up, Bretschneider said.
“They have been compliant in the past, albeit a bit slow,” Bretschneider said. “If they do not comply, it will be processed for abatement by the county.”
And with the possum filled property on Ramona, the weeds were cleared a couple weeks ago by Bank of America, but the city will take a look at to make sure there aren’t other places the vermin are hiding out at, Bretschneider said. There is a broker processing the house to be sold, she added.
Hopefully this helps get these homes back to their former glory.
