OXNARD : Debris at Zoe Site Prompts Warning

Complaints over tons of debris left behind by the Zoe Christian Center in Oxnard when it closed this year have prompted the city to issue a warning to the property’s landlord to clean up the site or face penalties.

Oxnard’s code enforcement office issued a notice of eight violations to the Santa Barbara-based MacElhenny Group on Dec. 22.

Property manager Maureen Hathoot said the company has already begun the cleanup, which she estimated would cost as much as $20,000.

On Wednesday, Oxnard Community Development Director Richard Maggio said the city will decide this week whether the company’s efforts are sufficient.

The notice charges the property owner with violating fire and debris codes and maintaining a public nuisance. Once the owner is notified, each violation may be punishable with a fine of $100 for each day the condition exists, said Richard McIntosh, head of Oxnard’s code enforcement office.

“It will take at least two days with a lot of people and a lot of trucks to clean up the site,” McIntosh said. “It’s a big-time job.”

The former farm-labor camp that housed up to 180 homeless people year-round was abandoned by the Zoe Christian Center in July, months after the city shut off the center’s water, saying Zoe owed $43,000 in utility bills.

The city later declared the shelter on 5th Street near Rose Avenue unlivable, citing health hazards and zoning violations.

Hathoot said the MacElhenny Group would consider a new tenant to use the site as a homeless shelter, despite paying for the cleanup and being left with $140,000 in unpaid rent from operators of the Zoe Christian Center.

“We don’t want the building to be razed if it can still be used,” Hathoot said.