The city of Orange, California, is taking decisive action to address the challenges posed by vacant and abandoned properties. With a focus on enhancing public safety and economic development, the Orange city council has introduced a comprehensive ordinance aimed at holding property owners accountable for maintaining their unoccupied buildings.
This initiative comes as the city grapples with a longstanding structural deficit and seeks innovative ways to generate new revenue. The ordinance, which passed with a 6-0-1 vote, targets properties that have been abandoned or empty for more than a month, requiring owners to secure and repair their buildings or face significant fines and fees.
The New Ordinance: Key Requirements and Enforcement
The ordinance outlines specific requirements for property owners to ensure their vacant buildings do not become sources of blight or nuisances. Owners must clear overgrown vegetation, maintain the exterior condition of their buildings, and secure windows, gates, and doors. Additionally, they must remove broken-down vehicles, old signs, and install cameras for monitoring.
For empty storefronts, owners are required to have fake displays or install paintings in visible windows. Code enforcement officers will inspect these buildings and categorize them as stable, at-risk, or problematic, with the latter two subject to fines and additional fees until compliance is achieved. Property owners will also have the opportunity to appeal these fees.
The Impact on Property Owners and the Community
The ordinance aims to address the various issues associated with vacant properties, including illegal activities such as trespassing, vandalism, and drug use, as well as nuisance conditions like overgrown vegetation, illegal dumping, and graffiti. These conditions not only diminish property values but also deter investment and adversely impact the city’s economic development and tax revenue.
Rafael Perez, City Code Compliance manager, emphasized that the main goal of the ordinance is compliance. “To the extent that some individual property owner refuses or fails to comply, then this would certainly hit them in the pocket,” he said. The ordinance does not apply to buildings actively under construction, apartments or houses actively listed for sale or rent, and properties where the owner is actively seeking a permit or license.
Orange’s Revenue Generation Efforts
In addition to the new ordinance, Orange city officials are exploring various measures to generate new revenue amid a longtime structural deficit. Earlier this month, the council adopted the 2026-27 fiscal year budget, which included eliminating and freezing $6 million in vacant positions and transferring $15 million from different spending buckets to balance the city’s books.
Officials have also placed a one-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot, which, if approved, would bring in around $37 million annually over 13 years. Another ballot measure proposed in May would raise the hotel tax from 10% to 14% for hotels with 11 rooms or more. These measures are part of the city’s efforts to address its financial challenges and improve public services.
The ordinance and revenue generation efforts have sparked discussions among property owners and community members. Laura Taylor, a resident near the former Orange Mall, urged council members to adopt the ordinance, highlighting the mall’s history of homeless encampments, drugs, prostitution, litter, human waste, and public intoxication. “The wealthy owners and their property managers made it clear through the continued neglect of their properties that they do not care,” she said. “Hopefully, this ordinance will send a clear, persistent, and, if necessary, expensive message to negligent property owners that Orange will not tolerate the blight any longer.”
Chip Ahlswede, a spokesman for the Apartment Association of OC, expressed concerns about the potential creation of a registry for vacant properties, citing the risk of inviting squatters and the lengthy eviction process. “You’re condemning the property owners if you go with this registry,” he said. In response, Perez noted that the registry aspect was removed due to these concerns.
