Anyone who is a property owner in Mariposa County who chooses not to play by the rules, sooner or later will expose their real estate holdings to the County’s collection process.

At Tuesday’s Mariposa County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, two items brought by Building Director Mike Kinslow and Public Works Director Allen Toschi were unanimously approved, adding juice to the county’s collection abilities and code compliance enforcement.

The board voted to adopt an ordinance that enhances a previous ordinance with regard to building permits. Previously, the county ordinance allowed the building department to file a Notice of Non-Compliance against owners who had taken out a permit but not requested a final inspection (Ord. 739, 1989). That ordinance provides that a Notice of Non-Compliance, attached to the parcel, would be appropriate in that it would provide constructive notice of the violation to any prospective buyer or other intended person.

The new ordinance extends the County’s ability to record a Notice of Non-Compliance, in part, “In circumstances where construction work has been commenced or completed without the required permit(s) or where there has been a failure to obtain final inspection approval prior to the expiration of the required permit(s).”

It also states, “Upon compliance with the County Code, the Building Department shall record a release of the Notice of Non-Compliance relative to the property.”

The public works issue, which consisted of a public hearing to allow Toschi’s department to add delinquent fees to the appropriate property tax roll for collection of delinquent fees for unpaid water, sewer, road and standby fees charged to property owners in several special districts.

Toschi said that even though property owners are invoiced monthly, there is currently an 18 to 20 percent default ratio in the special districts like Yosemite West, Lake Don Pedro, Coulterville, and Mariposa Pines. The unpaid fees amount to several thousand dollars, and home foreclosures may be involved in a number of the defaults.

With the board’s approval, public works will now be able to add those fees to individual property tax roles.

In other board action, the supervisors unanimously approved the adoption of the Mariposa County Local Transportation Commission Public Participation Plan, and in a related item, approved the final transit marketing plan update for the Mari-go public transportation service.

On the consent agenda, the board approved extending its agreement with the Mariposa County Unified School District on its joint use agreement of fields at Mariposa County High School. That action was requested by Parks and Recreation Department Director Shannon Hansen to facilitate Proposition 40 funds the board previously dedicated to Grizzly Stadium construction costs.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT ON THIS STORY, OR READ OTHER COMMENTS, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.MARIPOSAGAZETTE. COM