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Council continues abatement hearing for West End Road property after owner reports parts ordered
Summary
Arcata staff told the council the city could replace a failed backflow assembly for about $25,000; the property owner said replacement parts were overnighted and council voted to continue the abatement hearing to June 3, 2026 to allow time for repair.
Arcata City Council — The council continued an abatement hearing at its May 20 meeting after staff and the property owner described ongoing repair efforts to remediate a nuisance condition at 4600 West End Road.
Deputy Director of Environmental Services Doug Colbert summarized the case, saying staff sent a second notice to abate and that the property’s backflow assembly had not passed testing as of May 15. Colbert said the city has kept in close contact with the owner and the contractor and that purchasing and installing a whole new assembly through a city abatement would cost about $25,000.
The property owner, who identified himself as Bob Figus, told the council the replacement parts were ordered overnight and “should be here tomorrow,” and that once the parts arrived he expected the repair would take about an hour.
City staff and the acting city manager recommended a short continuance rather than immediate abatement, citing the owner’s active efforts and the substantial cost to the city if it were to do the work. Acting City Manager David Loya recommended continuing the hearing to the council’s next meeting to allow the owner time to complete the repairs while preserving the noticing required for a public hearing.
Council action: Council member Matthews moved and a colleague seconded a motion to continue the hearing to June 3, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers. The council voted unanimously to continue the hearing.
Quotes: Colbert said staff had been in frequent contact with the owner and that “they are making an attempt to fix this problem.” Owner Bob Figus stated, “parts should be here tomorrow… it should only take me an hour to fix it once the parts are in.” Acting City Manager David Loya recommended the continuance to preserve hearing notice requirements.
Next steps: The matter will be heard again at the June 3, 2026 council meeting; staff said that if repairs are not completed or the assembly remains noncompliant staff will return with a recommended resolution to abate and recover costs.
Ending: The council continued the hearing rather than ordering city abatement, citing the owner’s documented repair efforts.
