One of the Bay Area’s most expensive cities is taking a hard stance on neglected, derelict real estate. On Tuesday, San Jose’s City Council unanimously approved a dramatic increase in penalties for blighted properties, quadrupling daily fines from $2,500 to $10,000 and raising maximum penalties to $500,000.
The original push for tougher penalties began in 2023 as a way to protect historic buildings, including the First Church of Christ Scientist, but has now been expanded to cover all types of properties. The updated ordinance targets absentee landlords and property owners, who create unsafe conditions in neighborhoods by leaving buildings vacant or in disrepair for extended periods of time.
District 2 Councilmember Pamela Campos, District 3’s Anthony Tordillos and District 5’s Peter Ortiz led the proposal and initially proposed daily fines as high as $15,000 for each violation. Ortiz told KPIX-TV the prior fines were ineffective because many violators are wealthy or overseas investors and “treat these minor fines essentially like a cost of doing business.”…