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Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

Tip List: A lot of problems at apartments

The King of Blight contest winner recently named by Tip List may be over, but one late entrant deserves a mention in these pages.

An anonymous tipster sent in a series of photos of a couple of apartment buildings in Merced that have seen better days.

The recent photos showed two apartment buildings at 1976 and 1962 Edwards Ave. with overgrown bushes, a dead tree standing in the backyard and patios full of junk.

That's not all. The building gaped with broken windows, graffiti covered doors and some of the apartment's porches looked to be falling down.

When I drove over to take a look, the place hadn't changed much from the photographs I'd received. Not only did the apartments look bedraggled, but the road alongside the apartments was lined with trash: a couch, two vacuums and a shopping cart had been left in front of the complex.

When I called the city to look into the property's past, I was told it was a trouble spot when it comes to code violations. In fact, the property has earned six code violations.

Greg McSwain, a code enforcement officer, said the property is a repeat offender. "We've got quite a history on this property," he said. He has had to return to the property three times this year because of its lousy upkeep and maintenance. The city has been dealing with the spot for eight years off and on, he said. Now there are structural issues with the porches, trash piles up near the building and general upkeep is less than desired, he said.

But, he added, the property isn't at the bottom of those he's seen in the city.

"This is just below par," he said of the property. "It's definitely not the worst."

While the landlord has been slow to clean up the place, said McSwain, some of the tenants haven't made it any easier. Not only have they left trash on the premises but from time to time they put junk in the parking lot of a nearby church. "It's definitely the landlord-tenant combination here," said McSwain.

The property's owner, Rajvir Dhaiya of Pacifica, said that any problems at his property have been dealt with. As for code violations, he said he hasn't received any. "Our apartment has no violations whatsoever," he said. "We have not received a letter from anyone."

What is wrong: an apartment building on Edwards Avenue is in disrepair, and garbage seems to pile up along the road.

Who is at fault: the owner of the property, Dhaiya, has been slow to clean up the place, and some of the tenants have added to the mess.

Tip off the tip list!

If you see something broken or in need of repair in your neighborhood, call the Sun-Star Tip List reporter, Jonah Owen Lamb, with your tips at (209) 385-2484 or e-mail jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.