ORANGE, Calif. — Residents in Orange said the streets over the past few years have been getting dirtier and dirtier.
Laura Taylor said she got sick of it and decided to organize a monthly cleanup team.
“We meet once a month, currently the third Saturday of every month, and we clean up all along the canal from Meets to Heim,” said Taylor.
They started cleaning the streets in January as part of the cities Adopt a Street Program, and Taylor said her team has a year’s commitment.
When Taylor first came up with this idea, she said she wasn’t sure how many people would get involved. Sometimes, she can see upwards of 24 volunteers all working for free to clean up the neighborhood.
“Since they tore down JC Penny and the mall, things have gotten worse. There has been trash and a lot of debris from the landscaping not being taken care of,” she said.
While Taylor doesn’t mind cleaning up her community, she doesn’t plan to do this volunteer work forever, so she took her concerns to the Orange City Council meeting.
“Aside from being unsightly, these abandoned properties have sadly attracted homeless encampments, drug and prostitution activity, drinking in public, and human waste on the hardscape and landscaping,” said Taylor during the June 23 Orange City Council meeting.
Mayor Dan Slater of the city of Orange said there has been an issue with vacant and abandoned properties for years.
On June 23, in a vote of 6-0-1, the City Council approved an ordinance that requires owners of vacant properties to secure, repair and maintain their buildings.
“We are not trying to penalize anyone who has a vacant property, however if your property is going to be vacant or worst case abandoned don’t make it look that way, all we’re asking is don’t let there be weeds, trash, graffiti,” said Mayor Slater.
According to the city, there are currently 230 vacant or abandoned properties throughout the city.
Under this ordinance, Mayor Slater said property owners could face $1,300 in weekly monitoring fees until they fall into compliance with the regulation.
And up to $5,000 in fines for violating the law three times in a 12-month period.
Chip Ahlswede is the vice president of the Apartment Association of Orange County.
Originally, Chip had concerns about the ordinance as it was supposed to include a registry of every vacant location and who the owners were.
“It basically says, here is a vacant property that you can come and squat in, we didn’t want something like that happening here in Orange,” said Ahlswede.
Chip said after talks with the city, his organization was able to remove the registry from the ordinance.
Taylor and the volunteers will continue to do cleanups until the end of the year.
”Hopefully, it will make a difference with our efforts,” said Taylor.