City Council votes to keep real estate transaction-related reports
mandatory, despite calls from agents and county Grand Jury to make them
voluntary
The City
of Santa Barbara has no interest in making zoning information reports
voluntary, despite a request from the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury and
the longtime advocacy of local real estate agents.
Dozens of
real estate agents on Tuesday called on the City Council to make the reports —
performed by city staff at a cost of $465 each — voluntary and
informational rather than mandatory during a home transaction.
Sellers
are required to apply for a zoning information report no later than five
days after entering an agreement for sale. If the report reveals violations,
the problems must be fixed, often jeopardizing the sale of the house close to
escrow.
Some real
estate agents said the reports are often riddled with errors and performed
by zoning staff members, not building officials who have expertise in the area.
City
officials, however, believe the reports are essential to identifying illegal
add-ons and remodels that may pose health and safety issues or adversely affect
neighborhood culture and quality of life.
“This is
the time to fix illegal alterations and add-ons that are dangerous,”
Councilwoman Cathy Murillo said. “It is a time to catch safety
violations.
“Zoning
information reports are an important part of the process. I have always
said that.”
In May,
the grand jury issued a report requesting that the reports be voluntary and be
used for informational purposes only, fueling emotions among many in the real
estate community.
The
City Council plans to send a letter to the grand jury explaining that it
is working to improve the city’s zoning information report process, but it
won’t make the reports voluntary.
According
to city officials, about 45 ZIRs are prepared each month by staff and only
about four of them have discrepancies.
If a
zoning report reveals violations, such as an illegal dwelling unit, an illegal
conversion to habitable space, or additions that cause health and safety risks,
it’s up to the seller to fix the problem. The situation casts a shadow of doubt
over the buyer’s enthusiasm for the deal, real estate agents say.
Agents
contend that city zoning officials are not qualified to make determinations
about what is safe and what isn’t, and often end up making mistakes in
reports.
Reyne
Stapelmann, president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors, said zoning
officials are not qualified to identify problems with building and safety. She
said building officials are finding errors that aren’t there.
“ ZIRs are
not the best fix,” said Stapelmann, who, in her capacity as SBAOR president,
writes a monthly real estate column for Noozhawk.
The grand
jury and real estate agents also argued that city records are
incomplete. For example, they say, the reports often assert that a carport was
illegally added on or a garage was moved, and it’s up to the sellers to prove
that they didn’t commit the alleged violation.
In one
case, according to the grand jury, a homeowner was forced to dig up a
30-year-old photo of himself — taken in front of the garage when he was 6 — to
prove that the original placement had not changed.
Homeowner
Joan Russell Price criticized the ZIRs.
“I love
this city,” she said. “I have lived here for 25 years. I am here because I am
ashamed of what the ZIR process does in our community.”
Price said
a ZIR revealed an incorrect violation, and “it was on me to prove that I had
not done anything to my house.”
She said
she was forced to force to produce property tax records that showed the
original square footage of the house to prove she had not added anything to the
house.
“Just
because the city didn’t have in their records, it was my fault and was
going to get ripped down,” Price said.
Community
Development director George Buell said the city is working to correct many of
the issues that the grand jury has noted.
“As long
as you have people working on something, there is going to be a factor of human
error,” he said. “To guarantee it would trail off to nonexistent is probably
not realistic.
“It is our
hope to see that there is increased accuracy and consistency in those reports.”
The city
had already corrected many of the concerns raised by the grand jury. The City
Council took up the issue in 2013 and a working group met several times in
2014. The city decided to create “major” and “minor” categories.
They also
plan to create a zoning checklist for zoning inspectors to use and create a
frequently asked questions sheet.
Councilman
Frank Hotchkiss, a Realtor, expressed mixed feelings about the ZIRs. He said he
understands the criticisms, but he also knows Realtors who support ZIRs.
“For a
buyer it’s one thing, for a seller it’s another,” he said.
“I am not sure we should throw the baby out with the bath water, even
though I would sort of like to. It is more important to preserve our
neighborhoods even though it is a pain for us.”
July 25, 2015
NOOZHAWK
By
Joshua Molina
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