THE SITE: Off 14th Street, Ramona |
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THE PROBLEM: Living near unmaintained open space can cause anxiety in hot, dry weather.
Carol P oindexter, who lives in an apartment complex off a cul-de-sac in Ramona, reported the empty, privately owned lot behind her building to a fire inspector Sept. 23. The weeds and overgrowth posed what she called “a major, major fire hazard,” especially with transients encamping along a nearby riverbed.
That got the ball rolling. But Poindexter thought 45 days – the window the property owner was given to remove the brush – was too generous. “We're scared,” she said in her call to Just Fix It.
STATUS: Just Fix It helped uncover a misunderstanding that had resulted in an incomplete job.
Ramona fire inspector Jeremy Davis, who uses the company Fire Prevention Services to check on some hazard complaints, had indeed told the lot owner, a real estate company, that the weeds and brush were a violation.
The deadline was 30 days (with a two-week extension if the city chose to force abatement), but Davis said he had been told a follow-up inspection found “everything is just fine.”
But that's not how the lot looked Monday. Much of it seemed to have been thinned, but there were 5-foot weeds growing along the chain-link fence separating the lot from the PepperTree Apartments, which should be part of the “defensible space” between homes and a fuel source.
Davis sent his contractor Wednesday to meet with Poindexter and Al Paulsen, the maintenance man for the apartments. It turned out that the original inspection overlooked part of the lot and that there were spots needing more work. There were tree branches, for instance, that must be trimmed to reduce the fire hazard.
The property owner has been informed, Davis said.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE: Jeremy Davis, who can be reached at (760) 788-2243 or jdavis@rmwd.org regarding fire inspection issues in Ramona. Violations also can be reported at the contractor's Web site, fireprevention.net.
NEED A PROBLEM SOLVED: Is there a problem government hasn't fixed despite your complaints? Just Fix It might be able to help.
Complaint forms are at justfixit.uniontrib.com, or call (800) 820-8714.
