The city of Santa Clarita sought an L.A. County Superior Court order to search a Canyon Country home back in May because officials say it had so many code violations that it posed a health and safety risk, according to a warrant request filed Friday at the Valencia courthouse.
The city of Santa Clarita was unable to answer questions Monday about the filing or the status of any code-enforcement actions.
Joe Montes, city attorney for Santa Clarita, announced in April after a closed-session discussion with City Council members that they had unanimously approved a nuisance abatement proceeding against the owner of the property at 27952 Oakgale Ave. in Canyon Country.
The city had previously been unable to arrange an inspection to determine whether the nature and extent of the violations “constitute an immediate danger” and to determine if there are further violations,” according to the court request.
Residents reached out to The Signal regarding concerns about the potential Department of Public Health violations that may exist on the hillside property, which are visible from the street.
The court filings document the two-year effort by city officials to bring the property into compliance, which included 25 inspections.
The property enforcement efforts began in February 2022 when the city received a complaint concerning the property, according to city officials in court records. Based on that complaint an inspection was conducted Feb. 28, 2022, and inoperable vehicles were seen in the right of way.
In May that year, the same alleged violation was observed, according to the city.
Filings and declarations detail a litany of concerns in the following months.
“During the inspections, city code enforcement has witnessed an accumulation of items, a couch, and inoperable and/or unregistered vehicles in plain view to varying degrees,” according to a sworn statement from a city inspector in court filings.
The filing also noted city code enforcement officers would give the occupant, whom the city identifies as Sandra Portner, more time to address the violations when progress was made, as a show of good faith and cooperation by the city.
The city also mentioned a program in which something called a “40-yard bin,” a term for the dumpsters behind restaurants, can be delivered in situations where multiple complaints have been made. The option was not pursued, according to the city.
A message left at a number listed for Portner was not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
During an inspection April 11, a city official noted the front door was open and no one answered the doorbell, but “the partially visible room beyond (the entryway) was almost completely filled with items, showing evidence of a hoarding condition.”
Texts were exchanged back and forth, according to the city, but officials hadn’t heard from Portner in about a month prior to the filing, according to city records.
If the city deems such a move necessary, council members could authorize an attempt to take over the property, which the council authorized in June for a home at 27442 Plumwood Ave.
For that property, the City Council unanimously agreed to seek a court-approved receivership, according to Community Preservation Manager Tracy Sullivan.
In that scenario, a property is put in the care and possession of an approved third party chosen by the city, with the court’s approval, which is then responsible for the cleanup of the property.
The cost of the cleanup is then billed to the property owner in the form of a lien, which must be paid before property ownership is returned.