Lake County orders abatement at two Marin Street parcels after fire damage, nuisance complaints

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 23 upheld a code-enforcement notice of nuisance and ordered abatement of violations at two adjoining properties on Marin Street in the Neese area of Nice, including a fire-damaged lot where a burned structure and scattered debris remain.

County staff said the abatement is intended to remove remaining fire debris and other violations to protect public safety and prevent runoff into local tributaries and the lake.

Marcus Beltramo, manager of the county's code enforcement division, told the board that the main concern is debris from the structure that burned on 6782 Marin Street and the risk that “when the rain does rain on that property, that it will get capture all that debris and then wash it down, eventually going into our tributaries and streams and then ultimately the lake.” He said a demolition permit had been issued more than a year earlier but had expired and that code enforcement issued a notice and order to abate because progress toward clearing the site was “minimal or not sufficient enough.”

Property owner and appellant Jessica Northcott and her partner, Dan Hannah, addressed the board during a sworn public testimony period. Hannah said the house burned “in 12 minutes” and that they lost a friend in the fire; he described efforts to clean up and financial and housing hardship following the fire, saying they had been homeless for about 150 days. Northcott told the board she had obtained permits and used free dump days and asked for assistance: “If we can just get any help, would be highly, you know, appreciated.”

Neighbors and local advocates urged caution in enforcement. Elizabeth Jeremias, identifying herself as a neighbor and friend, said the couple had been “victimized and criminalized” during cleanup and recounted arrests and a stay-away order that, she said, interfered with their ability to finish abatement steps.

Staff described ancillary public-nuisance issues at the properties, including people living in RVs, blocked roadways and repeated calls for sheriff and environmental-health response. Beltramo said the secondary parcel contained miscellaneous stored items that conflict with the R-1 zoning because the site lacks a primary structure and storage is an accessory use.

Board members questioned staff about the timeline from the initial notice to the hearing. Beltramo said the code-enforcement office is small and handles a high volume of cases; he acknowledged the additional time benefited the owners by giving them more time to clean but said daily operational demands delayed bringing the matter to the board sooner. A supervisor suggested the county should find ways to expedite cases involving people displaced by fire.

A motion to uphold the notice of nuisance and instruct staff to proceed with abatement was made, seconded and approved by a 4-1 vote. The board directed staff to move forward with the abatement process to remove existing violations from the listed property addresses.

The board clerk recorded the motion as carried 4-1; supervisors did not record individual named votes in the transcript. Staff invited the owners to meet with code-enforcement personnel after the hearing to discuss next steps and potential assistance options.

Provenance: Transcript of Lake County Board of Supervisors hearing items 6.6 (request for hearing regarding code enforcement activity at 6782 and 6792 Marin Street).