Code Enforcement Working to Abolish Private Property

By [post_author] –

Posted on Freedom Advocates on May 22nd 2008

Abusive building code enforcement policies were unanimously accepted by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, despite clear and steady opposition from the public.

Here are the items the board adopted on May 20:

  • “Notice of Violations” (red-tags) will no longer be mailed to property owners, just posted on the property. If people do not receive the notice then their access to the illegal administrative hearing (Kangaroo Court) is also lost.
  • Removed the $10,000 penalty/fee cap, allowing for higher penalties to be charged.
  • Broadened the scope of  violations .
  • Increased the authority of the already illegal Kangaroo Court.
  • Increased discretionary powers, expanding circumstances for favoritism or abuse.
  • Permits can be held hostage due to the application discretionary standards.
  • Imposition of  criminal charges and imprisonment.
  • Penalty funds go into the County General Fund in order to pay off collaborating non-profit “buddy and beneficiary” people and organizations.

This can be found in the May 20, 2008 published agenda;
SUBJECT: Code Compliance Program Workshop. Find this at: http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/BDSvData/non_legacy/agendas/2008/20080520/PDF/097.pdf

This is a 60 page document. The first 23 pages are the usual dull boring governmental regulatory stuff in which lie some serious changes to rights.

From page 24 on, you will find a number of letters written by aware, affected and diligent citizens and citizens groups to the Santa Cruz County Supervisors.

If you wish to read and learn the truth, go to the letters.

In PROCEEDINGS OF THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, VOLUME 2008, NUMBER 10, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 the following items, buried in the proceedings, were Adopted under the CONSENT AGENDA:

  • Mandatory permanent deed restrictions will be imposed on property owners.
  • Planning department given power to perform periodic, perpetual unwarranted, unannounced searches in violation of the United States Constitution 4th Amendment.
  • Fees to be charged to permit applicants for future unwarranted searches.
  • Penalties for “non-compliance” were increased.

You can find the proceedings at:

http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/BDSvData/non_legacy/Minutes/2008/20080415/PDF/037.pdf

Here are items of expanded government regulatory power that are in the planning stages:

  • Remove tenants from housing and relocate them to controlled government housing units.
  • Publicly embarass red-tagged families in order to “deter future conversions”.
  • Make existing ordinances more punitive in their application.
  • Increase coordination with snitches.
  • Increase efforts to go after back rents.
  • Engage in “proactive inspections” to augment the snitch system.

Here is a brief listing of what the County has been doing anyway for the last 30 years regardless of recent ordinance changes:

  • Periodic, perpetual, unannounced, unwarranted searches.
  • Disregard for caps penalties.
  • Issuance of  less than 30 day mandates for corrective action.
  • Define regulations on an ad-hoc basis with different results for different people.
  • Run an illegal Kangaroo Court.
  • Permits issued on a two-track system for favored and non-favored applicants.
  • Threatened property owners with imprisonment, criminal charges and bodily harm.
  • Enforcement officers have assaulted citizens verbally and physically.
  • Implemented ordinances without due process.
  • Engaged in proactive warrantless inspections.
  • Applied different rules to different  people [social justice]
  • Shown favoritism to buddies and beneficiaries.

Planning Director Tom Burns and the Board of Supervisors seem intent on turning the Planning Department into their own personal KGB-style Department of Homeland Destruction Agency as follows:

  • The red tag code enforcement program is used to collect revenue and take control of citiizen’s properties.
  • The red tag program dovetails with the County’s RDA-funded government housing programs to remove people from their homes and place them in government controlled smart-growth housing projects.
  • The housing crisis is a direct result of the County’s oppressive and punitive processes.
  • The department seeks to create public-private partnerships with favored “nonprofit” developers to build deed-restricted, poor quality, costly government controlled housing.

For further reading, see these related articles on this site:

Code Enforcement Falsely Subjects Widow to Red Tags: http://www.freedomadvocates.org/articles/private_property/code_enforcement_falsely_subjects_widow_to_red_tags_20060711183/

Santa Cruz: The Gestapo of the West
http://www.freedomadvocates.org/articles/illegitimate_government/santa_cruz–the_gestapo_of_the_west_20080424296/

 


“Code Enforcement Working to Abolish Private Property” by Andrea Sanchez

Andrea Sanchez can be reached at ansan@cruzio.com

 

This article contains links to outside sources not controlled by Freedom Advocates and therefore are subject to change.

 

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