Magistrate trims three large liens after owners show remediation work

At the 'other matters' portion of the Aug. 5 hearing, the city presented lien histories and recommended reductions while property representatives described remediation expenses and administrative complications. For Unit 305 (CE230040090) the city asked to reduce a $35,600 lien to $3,000; the owner’s attorney argued notice irregularities and previous payments; magistrate Barnard reduced the lien to $2,000 payable in 90 days. "Having considered the statutory criteria... I'm going to reduce the lien amount from $35,600 down to $2,000 payable within 90 days," Barnard said.

In a separate matter the magistrate reduced a $76,800 lien to $9,500 after hearing that the buyer incurred substantial contractor costs to remedy unpermitted work and that part of the delay stemmed from complicated permit and contractor issues. For an older, foreclosure-acquired property with 11 prior code cases (CE18110250), the magistrate reduced a $244,000 lien to $45,000 and granted six months to pay, noting that a buyer of a foreclosed property nevertheless assumes recorded encumbrances.

Attorneys for respondents stressed the remediation costs borne since purchase and asked for more lenient reductions; city staff emphasized the multi-year histories and the number of separate cases tied to each parcel. The magistrate’s orders include payment deadlines and, in some cases, instructions that failure to pay will revert the lien to its original amount.