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Resident complaints over cluttered Santa Maria property; city attorney outlines abatement process
Summary
Residents urged action on a cluttered property at 22931 Santa Maria, calling it a fire and safety hazard near Oxford Prep Elementary. The city attorney said a formal notice to abate will be sent and that, if unremediated, the city will seek a hearing to deem the property a public nuisance and proceed with abatement.
A Mission Viejo resident told the council on June 9 that a property on Santa Maria (address given as 22931) remains cluttered with abandoned machine parts, trash and strong animal waste odors close to Oxford Prep Elementary School, posing a fire and safety hazard.
Faith Firston said she previously raised the issue and that the conditions had not improved: "My name is Faith Firston, and I live in Mission Viejo. I'm here about 22931 Santa Maria, the hoarder... The yard is a fire and a safety hazard." Firston asked what progress city management and code enforcement had made.
The City Attorney responded that staff will send the required notice as a prerequisite to any nuisance abatement action and that the notice gives the property owner a short window to remediate. If the owner fails to remediate, the city will request a nuisance abatement hearing before a hearing officer; if the hearing officer finds sufficient evidence the officer may declare the property a public nuisance, which would permit city abatement (physical clean-up) and potential recovery of costs. The City Attorney noted this is the routine municipal code procedure for declaring and abating public nuisances.
Council did not take immediate enforcement action at the meeting but staff described next procedural steps and offered to answer follow-up questions.
