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Board directs county to pursue termination of Timberscan condominiums after years of decline
Summary
After decades of unsafe, dilapidated buildings and escalating public‑safety and code violations at the Timberscan complex, the Orange County Commission authorized staff to pursue equitable termination and sale under a termination trustee and to implement resident relocation and assistance plans.
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 14 directed staff to pursue legal steps to terminate the condominium structure at the Timberscan complex and sell the property under a termination trustee, after hearing testimony about prolonged public‑safety risks and failed attempts by private owners and associations to stabilize conditions.
The move came after Jason Sorensen, county staff, detailed a decades‑long decline at Timberscan, where most buildings have been demolished, fire hydrants and water service remain unreliable and the county now holds tax deeds to roughly 38% of the units. Sorensen said the county has invested about $3.5 million in demolition and basic infrastructure work and that remaining structures still pose life‑safety hazards to residents. "Operating Timberscan is no longer practical, equitable or safe," he said, reading the outside counsel’s assessment.
Staff presented legal options including equitable termination (which requires the county to seek a judicial partition sale), termination for major damage, termination for economic waste and voluntary termination under the state condominium statutes. County attorneys said equitable termination would allow the county—as an existing unit owner—to petition a court to appoint a termination trustee to sell the property and wind up association affairs without owner consent in many circumstances. The county also outlined a resident assistance plan that would assign case managers, offer relocation aid, and consider acquisition of owner‑occupied units at appraised values to avoid displacing vulnerable residents.
Yvette Reyes, manager of Citizen Resource and Outreach, said case managers would be assigned to each household and the county would prioritize owner‑occupied units for potential purchase to help residents relocate before a sale. "This provides us an opportunity to relocate the residents before the sale of the property," she said.
The board voted in consensus to place the termination process on a rapid track: staff will prepare the legal petition and related interlocal/implementation steps and return on the August 25 consent agenda to request formal authority to initiate equitable termination proceedings. Commissioners emphasized the priority of protecting current residents and using proceeds and leverage from liens to seek a buyer who would stabilize the site and the surrounding neighborhood.
What’s next: staff will retain termination counsel, continue title searches and begin the formal legal process described to the board; the county’s resident assistance unit will begin outreach and case‑management assignments to residents who wish help relocating. The matter will return to the board as required by statute and county procedures.
