Unsightly homes in BC may lose their power, water

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 11:36 a.m.

Boulder City officials are studying a proposal that would enable them to turn off the power and water to unsightly homes -- mostly a handful of rental properties in the older part of town.

The city is responding to complaints from residents that a number of these properties have fallen into decay because their owners have moved away and rented them to people who have not kept them up. The property owners, officials say, also are not making aesthetics a top priority.

City Manager John Sullard said today that the city staff is meeting with the city attorney this morning to explore the option of turning off power and water and other options like fines and liens on the unkept properties.

"I want to make it clear that we are not talking about turning off water and electricity of people who are living there now," Sullard said.

"We are talking about homes that have been vacated, where lights have been left on to give the appearance someone is living there and the water has been left on to water the lawn."

Sullard estimates that the problem concerns roughly a half dozen homes in Boulder City -- not a major blight, but nonetheless a concern for small town governments and residents who want to preserve rural beauty.

Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro made the suggestion of turning off water and power -- and not turning it back on until the properties have been cleaned up -- at a recent City Council meeting.

Boulder City is unique among Southern Nevada communities in that it has such authority over its utilities.

Sullard said another option is to fine violators $1,000 a day and put a lien on their property until the fines are paid and the homes are fixed up.

Sullard, however, hopes it does not have to get that far.

"I would say about 85 percent of property owners comply (when the matter is brought to their attention)," he said. "However, there are hard cases."

Sullard said some of the absentee landlords may be elderly or cannot afford such work. He said, for them, the city's planned Christmas in April program, where volunteers fix up eyesore properties, could be an option.

"Also there are service clubs or church groups that do this kind of work," Sullard said. "We want to be compassionate, but we also want to address the concerns of those who filed the complaints.

"At this morning's meeting we will see how can we effectively speed up the process."