San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is taking action against the owners of vacant buildings in the city. He claims these owners are not doing enough to prevent their buildings from falling into disrepair.
According to Mayor Mahan, instances of urban blight, such as the long-vacant First Church of Christ Scientist, will no longer be ignored. “Behind me is a symbol of negligence that will no longer be tolerated in the City of San Jose,” Mahan declared.
The mayor announced a proactive approach to tackling deteriorating properties, including a proposed increase in penalty caps from $100,000 to $500,000. The hope is that this will compel the owners of the church, China-based Z&L Properties, to refurbish the site.
“We have what should be a civic pride that’s turned into a point of frankly embarrassment for our city and we’re not going to stand for that any longer,” Mahan stated.
Councilmember Omar Torres shared that his office has been inundated with calls from constituents referring to the site as the “trashbag church”.
“We are giving our residents false promises in our abilities to address significant blight issues in our city,” Torres commented, asserting he would not allow the historic property to continue to decline.
If the proposal to raise the fine cap to $500,000 is passed later this month, Z&L Properties will face a daily fine of $10,000 until the limit is reached. The city is also considering the possibility of repurchasing the site.
Mayor Mahan stated, “We are going to find every tool in the toolbox for holding Z&L accountable for properly protecting and maintaining this incredible historical landmark.”
The proposal to increase the fine cap will be put before a committee next week. In the meantime, the mayor said that the city’s code enforcement department will begin issuing citations.