By Linda Taaffe

Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

Los Altos

A new ordinance intended to clean up Los Altos neighborhoods could soon banish whatever the city considers front yard rubbish. The Los Altos City Council is in the process of drafting a law that would expand the types of clutter that the city can abate.

A general nuisance ordinance is intended to provide the city a broader list and better definition of what the city can abate, said City Manger Phil Rose. He said the new ordinance comes after an increase in neighbor complaints about properties with unkempt weeds and rubbish.

The city could draft the ordinance to prohibit any specific items in a person’s front yard in public view. This could include such items as vehicles that don’t move, whether they are registered or not, Rose said.

He said the council is still working on an ordinance in which the city will feel comfortable. Mountain View and Sunnyvale have similar ordinances.

Rose said the new ordinance should make the abatement process easier to address. Under the city’s current weed abatement law, the city must send a notice to the offender. The owner has 10 days to clean up a problem.

After the hearing, if nothing happens, the city can go in and cut the weeds and deal with any health hazards. Costs are filed as a lien against the property.

If the problem isn’t remedied, the city can go in, deal with weeds or other health hazards and bill the property owner, said code enforcement officer Paul Ray.

Ray said 99 percent of those noticed voluntarily comply, but for those who don’t, abatement takes time under the current law. Ray said the police receive between 50 to 100 complaints about neighborhood weeds and rubbish each year.

He said rubbish is often very subjective.

In one case, a resident wanted the city to force his neighbor to clean up what he considered boxes of junk overflowing the carport, he said.

The neighbor, on the other hand, said the boxes were full of stored antiques.

The new ordinance would set standards to define blight, he said.

Violations could be considered misdemeanors.

The council is expected to review the new ordinance within the next month.