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Resident presses Montclair on vacant building, train-area thefts; police report 17 recent calls
Summary
A resident urged the council to address repeated thefts and a problem vacant building near the rail corridor; police said the special enforcement team logged over 17 calls in the last 30 days and the community-development director said the property may be placed into receivership at an upcoming court hearing.
A Montclair resident told the council repeated thefts, trespass and fires near Oakland Avenue and the train corridor are damaging private and public property and that residents want more concrete action.
"It's horrible, what we have to deal with as a residence," resident Jonathan Chavez said during public comment, describing break-ins, damage to properties and ongoing fires in the riverbed. The presiding official asked the police chief and the community-development director to brief the council.
Police Chief Reeve said the department has responded repeatedly and that enforcement teams have been in the area. "In the last 30 days alone, we've had over 17 calls for service or self initiated calls for service...where officers responded to the area for a multitude of different reasons," he said, adding that the special enforcement team has made several contacts in marked and unmarked vehicles.
Community-development director Diaz said the vacant building is "a magnet for a lot of activity" and is currently tied up in a legal process. Diaz said the case is scheduled to return to court and that the judge may appoint a receiver who could begin cleanup and repairs: "this Wednesday, it goes back to court, and hopefully the judge will appoint a receiver." Diaz said the city must wait for the court process before doing major cleanup work.
Councilmembers discussed jurisdictional limits — including property owned by Pomona Unified School District and security responsibilities of Union Pacific Railroad — and the legal constraints on forcibly removing people from public spaces. Councilmembers suggested holding a community meeting with residents, police and code enforcement to review calls for service and coordinate next steps.
Next steps: Council offered to arrange a community meeting if residents request one so staff, police and code-enforcement personnel can discuss concrete actions and share call logs and enforcement history.
