The Santa Clarita City Council authorized Tuesday the strongest nuisance-abatement action at its disposal against a Saugus property.
City Attorney Joe Montes reported out of closed session that the City Council voted to seek a court-ordered receivership for a home on the hill in the 28700 block of Bouquet Canyon Road.
The move means the city can now seek a court-approved receiver to take over the property, address the problems and then attach the cost of the cleanup to the property owner through a lien.
The move is a severe one for city officials, which followed weeks of investigation that involved the city and the L.A. County Departments of Public Health and Public Works, according to a statement from county officials.
The Signal was initially alerted to the concern last week by an anonymous letter: “Neighbors on both sides of the knoll where this property is situated are overwhelmed by the pervasive odor of raw sewage and the unsightly mess, affecting not just their quality of life but also their property values and health.” While the odor was not present during a May 8 visit to the property, there was effluence running from the lot down a driveway that was shared with several properties.
Carrie Lujan, director of communications for the city, wrote last week that city staff could not release the complaint received on the property or the status of its code-enforcement case, citing government code regarding investigative records.
It’s unclear from the street what the exact source of the effluence is, but Lujan said addressing the septic issues would be considered under the purview of L.A. County Public Health.
In an email Monday, L.A. County’s Environmental Health Unit confirmed the agency already had plans to refer its investigation of the property to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office after a month of investigation.
The slight stream, which L.A. County officials identified as sewage, was no longer present Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the council meeting.
However, by that point, county officials were more than a month into their investigation, and the effluence wasn’t the concern.
“(On April 4), Environmental Health’s initial complaint investigation at 28797 Bouquet Canyon Road issued directives to the owner to abate public health code violations, i.e., sewage running down the street and accumulation of trash,” according to an email Monday from the Department of Public Health. “Re-inspections revealed the owner was not in compliance. The owner failed to appear at an administrative compliance review scheduled (April 15) and refused attempts at phone contact.”
Officials with the county’s On-site Wastewater Treatment Program sent another letter April 17 requesting proof of abatement by April 28, which was ignored, per DPH.
Last week, the city and county put together a team to visit the property, according to county officials, adding a “multiagency investigation” visited the property with an inspection warrant.
“Participating agencies included Santa Clarita Code Enforcement, Building and Safety, Animal Control, and Environmental Health” because the department was previously unable to access the property due to an unleashed dog.
The May 7 investigation “revealed continued noncompliance, and an additional violation of mosquito breeding conditions/green pool was also observed,” according to officials.
The anonymous tipster was hoping the city, the county or both can help clear up the concerning effluence that was running down Bouquet Canyon Road 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the email sent to The Signal on May 5.
The letter-writer described the liquid as “untreated wastewater,” which appeared to be trickling down the street in a small but steady stream.
The owner of the home did not answer a knock at her door on May 8.
