AS PART OF CONTINUING EFFORTS by the city of San Jose to hold negligent property owners accountable and clean up the city, Mayor Matt Mahan, joined by City Councilmember Omar Torres and local leaders, announced Thursday further action by increasing fines for neglectful owners of landmarks in the city.
“Behind me is a symbol of negligence that will no longer be tolerated,” Mahan said, standing in front of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, covered in scaffolding and tarps, in downtown San Jose. “What is a beautiful historic landmark has become an eyesore that’s standing in the way of quality of life for our residents, tourism, the vibrancy of our downtown, success of our small businesses.”
“What is a beautiful historic landmark has become an eyesore that’s standing in the way of quality of life for our residents, tourism, the vibrancy of our downtown, success of our small businesses.”
Mayor Matt Mahan
According to Ben Leech, executive director of the Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC*SJ), St. James Park (in front of the church) is the centerpiece of the San Jose Downtown Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places, which has several landmarks around the park.
“The city and people are so used to seeing this building as a pile of trash bags when it’s our job to remind people that there’s a beautiful building underneath there,” Leech said.
Founded in 1990, PAC*SJ is a group of citizen advocates for the city’s historic landmarks and neighborhoods.
The property is owned by international developer Z&L Properties, which abandoned restoration projects for the property. According to Mahan, those responsible for the neglected and dangerous building are not doing their part and the city wants to hold them accountable.
Sky-high fines underway for ‘bad actors’
In June, the mayor unveiled a plan for code enforcement to get rid of blight and ensure accountability. He said that since then, the team has made sure to assess fines and that they are charging Z&L Properties $1,000 per day for their inaction. By mid-March, they will have $100,000 in assessed fines, which is currently the limit in the city of San Jose.
According to Mahan, it would cost over $200,000 to take down the scaffolding and the plastic and clean up the site. And thus far, he said, they haven’t seen any impact of the fines on the owners.
“We’re part cheerleader, part watchdog. So, for the past three years, we’ve been in watchdog mode, begging, pleading, cajoling people to take responsibility for this as just a real lack of vision, lack of accountability.”
Ben Leech, PAC*SJ
“Councilmember and I and a few colleagues will be releasing a memo that will increase fines for bad actors who own and neglect our city, state and federal landmarks, increasing those fines to $500,000,” Mahan said.
“We’re part cheerleader, part watchdog. So, for the past three years, we’ve been in watchdog mode, begging, pleading, cajoling people to take responsibility for this as just a real lack of vision, lack of accountability,” Leech said.
According to him, although the proposal to increase fines is a necessary step, there needs to be a long-term vision and no one can win if the property remains vacant over the coming years.
‘Trash bag church’
Elizabeth Chien-Hale, former president of the San Jose Downtown Residents Association and Gregory Baumann of Teske’s Germania, a German restaurant in the neighborhood, also spoke to give the resident and business perspectives on how the blighted building has affected their quality of life and work.
“My office, my team have been flooded with emails and phone calls about what our constituents call the ‘trash bag church’,” said Torres, who represents downtown San Jose.
“Z&L Properties acquired this property in 2017 with promises of preserving its historical significance and contributing positively to our downtown area. Unfortunately, six years have passed and we are left with nothing but a blighted eyesore owned by a billionaire developer who has been involved in scandal including admissions of bribery and recent house arrest.”
In December last year, the owner of the China-based development firm, with many projects in San Jose was arrested on allegations of bribery and kickbacks to gain development approvals in San Francisco, according to San Jose Spotlight.
“This is unacceptable and it reflects poorly on both the property owner and the city’s commitment to preserving our landmarks,” Torres said. “I will not allow this historically significant property to continue to deteriorate.”
The current fine structure is flawed, he said, due to the limits that businesses and property owners are not taking seriously. Thus, the city is determined to protect and preserve sites that hold cultural and historic significance.
Higher fines are a starting point, Mahan said, and in the longer term they want a different ownership. Despite repeated communication, Z&L Properties has not shown that it is a willing and capable partner to protect the landmark. The fines against Z&L have only been assessed and remain unpaid, he said.