Ask TBC: When will the White/Akers work be done?
Last Updated Sunday, Jun 21 2009 12:00 PM
Q: Turning off of Akers onto White Lane, It's a big mess. You are lucky if you get to turn onto White Lane going west and eastbound. Can you find out when turn lights will be installed?
-- Lynn Kyle
A: Installation of protective left lights should be done by the end of July, said city traffic engineer Ryan Starbuck.
Q: What can you tell me about the alley/driveway behind the Taco Bell on the corner of California Avenue and Oak Street? It is between the Taco Bell and Camelot Park. There are huge potholes all along this alley.
Who is responsible? Is it city owned or privately owned? And what can be done? One almost needs a 4-wheel drive vehicle to navigate!
-- Kathy Enns, Shafter
A: Jim Eggert, Bakersfield's assistant planning director, said:
"The alley behind Taco Bell is privately owned. Maintenance is shared by all of the property owners that would include Camelot, Taco Bell, Jiffy Lube, etc.
"By ordinance, parking and drive aisles have to be maintained in good condition, including paving, striped parking spaces and adequate handicapped accessibility. This has been forwarded to Code Enforcement so they can contact the owners to bring the site up to the city's minimum development and safety standards."
The city's code enforcement chief said Tuesday staffers would check it out and send any violation notices within a week.
Q: I drive Union Avenue every day and have noticed that the landscaping at Little Saigon Plaza, the Asian-themed shopping center south of 4th Street, is being neglected. The grass hasn't been mowed in weeks and it looks terrible.
I recently ... was told that the shopping center was in foreclosure and the bank wasn't interested in keeping up appearances.
Does the city have any leverage in working with a foreclosing lender to encourage them to keep the grass mowed and trees watered? Perhaps The Californian can shed some light on the shopping center's status.
-- Marci Cunningham
A: As far as landscaping goes, it must be kept up. City code enforcement is now on it.
Jim Eggert, Bakersfield's assistant planning director, sent this update:
"Yes, city ordinance requires landscaping to be maintained and there is also a general property maintenance ordinance. Unlike abandoned or foreclosed homes, shopping centers usually have a maintenance provision that all tenants pay as part of their rent or lease to maintain the common areas such as parking lots and landscaping.
"Some shopping centers have property managers to oversee general operations and maintenance of the entire center. This has been forwarded to Code Enforcement to contact the center's owners and/or property managers about maintaining their landscaping and ongoing property maintenance."
In addition, Randy Fidler, chief code enforcement officer, said Tuesday his office would check out the site and send any violation notices within a week. Due process takes about 45 days, Fidler said.
Now, regarding the foreclosure.
A year ago June, the shopping center -- developed by William Lee of San Jose -- was repossessed by a San Diego-area investor, Lantzman Investments Inc.
At the time, shop owners told us they paid hundreds of dollars a month for plaza maintenance.
A second trustee's deed -- indicating a foreclosure -- was recorded in January of this year by Texas-based Sterling Bank.
To unravel this oddity, we turned to Tony Ansolabehere, the county's assistant assessor. At first it was a head-scratcher for him, also: How could two trustee's deeds be recorded against the same parcel?
The county's title department had the answer.
Sterling Bank made the first loan of $3 million back in 2005. Lantzman's was a second loan.
The first lender has priority even though Lantzman foreclosed first and could now "get nothing," Ansolabehere said. (Lantzman lent more than $1.6 million to Lee in 2007; he also foreclosed on Lee's unfinished V Heritage Plaza at 2303 S. Union last June and is still listed as that site's owner.)
So: Sterling Bank now owns Little Saigon Plaza -- and is on the hook for any problems.
Ask The Californian appears on Mondays. Submit questions to asktbc@ bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.
