On July 2, 205 Casa Street and 1067 Murray Avenue property owner Diller Ryan was given a minimum of 30 days to fix numerous code violations that San Luis Obispo city officials say pose a public safety hazard.
“[There were] concerns with how the building was secured or the lack of security in the building, some overgrown vegetation, junk and debris that had been accumulating on the property,” explained Michael Loew, Chief Building Official for the City of San Luis Obispo.
More than 80 complaints have been compiled since January 2022 when the city was made aware of concerns about the property that had reportedly been vacant since 2020.
Neighbor Nikita Loeb has lived across the street from the two properties for the past two years.
“It's been kind of dangerous. When I walk outside in my own house, I always had to look and see if there's someone in the bushes or something. It really upset the area for a bit,“ Loeb said.
At last week’s city council meeting, Ryan, who has owned the properties for more than 50 years, pleaded with the council not to declare the homes a public nuisance
“Let me bury my dead and lick my wounds," he said during the meeting. "I’m not indigent. I’m not incompetent. I think I’m a victim.”
Ryan did fix some of the issues in June of 2022, including the removal of debris and boarding up the properties, but city officials say a lack of progress and communication over the next year resulted in more code violations.
“The biggest difficulty staff has had in managing this code enforcement case is the communication element,” Loew said.
Now, Ryan is forced to make those changes within the given time frame before the city heads into legal proceedings to complete the abatement order and bring the properties up to code.
“We are utilizing this public nuisance declaration as a form of accountability and insurance for the community that even if the property owner fails to remediate the remaining violations, that the city can still make sure that the community is safe from the harm that this property could be causing,” Loew stated.
Financially, if an abatement order is issued, the city will pay for the repairs by securing a lien on the property.
According to the abatement order, Ryan has at least 30 days to fix the violations in question. If he doesn’t, the city can step in.
KSBY News attempted to contact Ryan after the meeting but was unable to reach him.
