Moraga Town Council Deals with a Nuisance; Gets Down to Business

The Moraga Town Council plowed into a full agenda at its regular meeting Wednesday, dealing with a delinquent property owner half a world away, a new building ordinance and absorbing more input about ways to awaken the soporific Rheem Valley Shopping Center.

316 Calle la Montana:

Planning Assistant Kelly Clancy gave a staff report on the property that has led to a stream of citizen complaints and a number of years worth of warnings from the town.

Property owner Laila Alothman, currently living in Kuwait, will be given five days to pay a $10,869.29 abatement fee generated when the town took steps to seal her rotting property, abandoned since 2007 and a neighborhood eyesore.

Town staff said Alothman and her attorney have been given plenty of notice, delivered in a language that could be understood, and that the town has had to maintain the property while the issue remains in limbo.

Perhaps predicting their own future, council members asked what would happen if Alothman, who has managed to straight-arm the town for years, didn't pay.

The town's legal counsel responded that the outstanding debt could result in a special assessment if it is not paid and could ultimately become a property tax violation, which would then involve the county.

The town could initiate a civil lawsuit, it was suggested, but the reality of collecting from a former homeowner half a world away was generally recognized as slim, at best. If Alothman doesn't, the unpaid fee will become a documented lien against the property owner.

Town Manager Jill Keimach agreed with the town attorney that adding legal fees to possible charges against the resident would require a change in the town’s guidelines. She said they were working to make this change and council members agreed on the action.

Barbara Simpson, in the sole public comment, asked how long the county would allow someone to not pay their taxes without doing something.

The answer provided by the council was that the town’s only responsibility is to abate the nuisance and that has been done. They could not speak for the county.

Council member Mike Metcalf summed up the discussion, saying, “We’re getting monkeyed around by this owner. The place has been abandoned for 12, maybe 13 years. What I’d like to propose is that we go ahead and give these people five days and then finish the nuisance process.  And charge the staff to come back to us in six months to say what we can do in terms of legal action and what changes we can make to the general plan to avoid these situations in the future.”

The resolution was approved and staff was directed to proceed.

 California Building Standards Code:

In other action Wednesday, Rich Chamberlain reported on the 2010 California Building Standards Code, known as CalGreen. Because the code only applies to new construction he said it doesn’t involve town staff and is not an expense for Moraga at this time.

The code is a state mandated ordinance and already in effect.

For residential projects: the biggest change is a requirement for 20 percent reduction in indoor water use, which must be met by July 1, 2011.

Chamberlain said local jurisdictions can make changes, but then would have to fund any mandatory requirements placed by the town.

 He suggested the following additions to the ordinance:

• Making revisions to define new construction as anything that changes more than 50 percent of total floor area.
• Putting operation manuals on dvd’s hard drives, and other electronic formats.
• Encouraging people to build to higher standards
• Partnering with third parties to verify green building standards and take advantage of a public desire to voluntarily build more efficiently.

Chamberlain said he was trying to sway the homeowner who tears down most of their house and leaves just one wall standing in order to escape the building codes for new construction.

Extended discussion of whether or not to add changes, followed by detailed dissection of each addition proposed, resulted in a 3-2 decision not to adopt the code until additional standards are clarified.

Economic Development Team Report:

Renee Zeimer, Mary Coe and Rich Larsen identified two goals for the coming year:

• Creating a town-wide commercial ordinance to streamline business
• Assist in the revitalization of the Rheem Valley Shopping Center.

Zeimer said progress would require “a lot of boots on the ground” and proposed a Citizen Action committee to tackle Moraga’s challenges.

Coe said 429 Moraga residents responded to the team’s recent community survey. She presented their comments about how to revitalize Moraga. Suggestions included a produce market, a bookstore, and expectedly, a Trader Joe’s.

Advice ranged from streamlining permitting processes to getting Saint Mary’s students into town to spend their parent’s money.

A second survey conducted by a business marketing class at Saint Mary’s College revealed - also expectedly - that students use Facebook as their main source of information about the town and that the connection between SMC and the town is weak.

A presentation from Matt LeBel, a SMC student working with the team, covered the new website, www.marketmoraga.com. where deals at local businesses are listed. LeBel suggested changing the name of the site because it is not poplar and redesigning the main page to attract students.

Larsen said the team intends to survey every office worker and retail business owner in Moraga. A major focus will be supporting existing businesses, not just finding new retail. Major landowners and commercial property owners will also be surveyed. Partnering with stakeholders and real estate brokers is high on the immediate agenda.

“It’s my intention to bring Moraga into the arena of economic development people who… can help us with the ideas we have,” Larsen said.

The committee is developing a package it can give to all new businesses to walk them through the process of pulling licenses and establishing themselves in town.

“We’d like to get Chevron to move their refinery here,” Larsen declared to stunned silence, finishing with comedic timing by saying: “You have to know I’m joking! It’s just too serious in here!”

Zeimer concluded the presentation with a plan to hold a community meeting at the Rheem Center to discuss new ideas for bringing some life back to the beleaguered shopping area.