Dear Red Phone, Our neighbors continually leave their front lawn
water running for hours and hours on end.
“Dear Red Phone, Our neighbors continually leave their front lawn water running for hours and hours on end. Many times, they turn on the sprinklers when they get home in the early evening, and the water is often still running in the morning when we wake up, up to 12 hours later. Telling them we turned their water off doesn’t seem to get the hint across. This happens on average several times a month. I know it’s not really my problem, but it’s such a waste!”
Red Phone: Dear Grass Really Is Greener, While there are no laws or regulations against wasting water, the Santa Clara Valley Water District urges people to “fall back” on watering. In the fall, plants need only half as much water as they do in the summer. Although we haven’t had mandatory rations, the district is suggesting that people cut back water use by 15 percent.
They will make house calls to offer customized tips to help you save water. And they’ll even enter you for a drawing for a high-efficiency washer. Maybe you could casually mention this promotion to your wasteful neighbor. To find out more, go to www.valleywater.org. So readers, take this to heart and do your part to save water before the government makes us do it.
Blight in the city
“I live here in Gilroy and travel on Church Street. There’s a house there that is just a disgusting looking mess of furniture, baby antiques and who knows what else. My question is: Does this guy have a permit? How can this continue and make us look like a really trashy city. I hope you can do something.”
Red Phone: Dear Reeks Of Antiques, The city occasional responds to cases of blight within the city. The Gilroy Municipal Code prohibits having “garbage,” “refuse” and “rubbish” in a yard. When looking at a possible blighted property, the city considers whether it is a health or safety hazard. In this case, it looks like that would be a violation of the city’s laws, said Code Enforcement Officer Scott Barron.
“We did recently receive a complaint regarding this and have met briefly with the property owners,” he said. “Using residential property, especially the front yard area in this manner is a violation of the municipal code. As with every case, we will continue to work with them to bring them into compliance.”
Hope this helps brighten your neighborhood, good caller. If you don’t notice a change, give the Red Phone a call again. To report potential blighted areas, call Code Enforcement at 846-0430.
Blight outside the city
“I know you don’t care about issues outside the city, but perhaps you can help. The corner of Rucker and Center has turned into a junkyard with several junk cars parked there. Isn’t there something anyone can do about this ugly mess? I did not know that area was zoned for a junkyard.”
Red Phone: Dear What Happens Outside Gilroy Stays Outside Gilroy, Actually we do care about what happens in the South Valley area in addition to what goes on in Gilroy proper. And so does Santa Clara County Code Enforcement Officer Jim Lanz.
“I saw a large commercial truck and what appeared to be three to four disabled vehicles being stored on the property,” he said after taking a look at the property northeast of Gilroy Wednesday evening. “It looks like a vacant lot, but there are a few houses on the site as well, although I don’t think they are connected to the vehicle storage. I have entered the information into our database and sent a referral to our zoning investigation section.”
The county will contact the owners, letting them know that storage of vehicles is prohibited in the residential area.
