Hoarders will be forced to remove clutter
March 07, 2011|BY CLAIRE WEBB-OCRegister.com
LAGUNA WOODS – Residents in Laguna Woods Village suspected of having excessive clutter in their homes will be compelled to allow inspections for hoarding and to remove the clutter under a policy expected to receive final approval Tuesday.
The policy, the first of its kind in Orange County, according to the Orange County Task Force on Hoarding, applies to residents of the 6,323 units in the United Mutual homeowners association, the retirement community’s largest.
The board would rely on residents to report those they suspect of hoarding, after which an inspection would be ordered, according to the policy, which is aimed at preventing safety hazards and protecting HOA property. In United Mutual, residents are part of a corporation, which owns all real property such as the residential units and carports.
Hoarding is the failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless and take up living spaces that can’t be used because of clutter, according to the task force. Compulsive hoarding is considered a mental disorder that can become a health and safety hazard.
The county Heath Care Agency’s Older Adult Services has received on average more than 200 referrals a year of adults living in hazardous conditions because of hoarding, according to a task force report. The task force is a volunteer group of city code enforcement officers, firefighters, and county health professionals and social workers that provide education to individuals and resources for hoarding cases in Orange County.
There are no Orange County cities with ordinances specifically prohibiting clutter because of hoarding, even though incidents are often reported to city code enforcement officers, said Margaret Riley, chairwoman of the task force and code enforcement manager in Buena Park. Riley said she was unaware of another HOA in the county with a similar policy.
Riley said hoarding cases in Orange County continue to grow, and the issue is more prevalent among seniors, especially if they have had a traumatic experience such as the death of a spouse.
The county Heath Care Agency’s Older Adult Services has received on average more than 200 referrals a year of adults living in hazardous conditions because of hoarding, according to a task force report. The task force is a volunteer group of city code enforcement officers, firefighters, and county health professionals and social workers that provide education to individuals and resources for hoarding cases in Orange County.
There are no Orange County cities with ordinances specifically prohibiting clutter because of hoarding, even though incidents are often reported to city code enforcement officers, said Margaret Riley, chairwoman of the task force and code enforcement manager in Buena Park. Riley said she was unaware of another HOA in the county with a similar policy.
Riley said hoarding cases in Orange County continue to grow, and the issue is more prevalent among seniors, especially if they have had a traumatic experience such as the death of a spouse.
“With extreme hoarding, there is a hazard there that’s affecting other people, so I understand the need to address it,” Riley said.
Marcia Wilson, manager of the Social Services Department in Laguna Woods Village, has said the department typically follows up on two to three reports of hoarding in the community each month.
Once a complaint is filed, an inspection is ordered, according to the policy. The HOA board must get residents’ permission to enter units. Residents who refuse inspections will be called before the board for a disciplinary hearing.
If the board determines the hoarding policy has been violated, the resident would have 15 days to remove the clutter. If a resident refuses, the board could seek a court order to force the resident to remove the clutter, fine the resident, suspend the resident’s privileges in the community or proceed with eviction.
The policy received initial approval in January, and residents have had more than a month to provide input, however neither the HOA board nor property manager Professional Community Management has received any, PCM spokeswoman Heather Rasmussen said.
Riley said while the board aims to address a potential safety hazard with the policy, forcing residents to clean up clutter could prove problematic.
“To go into their residence and have them clean up in two weeks is a very traumatic experience,” Riley said, which could result in the resident reverting back to hoarding. “I just hope that they are real delicate with the way that they implement this.”
———————————————-
Laguna Woods residents told not to fear hoarding inspections
LAGUNA WOODS – Laguna Woods Village’s largest homeowners association sought to assure residents the HOA is not going to unduly “break into their houses” to inspect for hoarding and excessive clutter under a policy approved Tuesday.
The United Mutual HOA board voted unanimously in favor of the policy, which prohibits excessive clutter and will compel residents suspected of hoarding to allow the association to inspect their home.
“People do not need to be nervous that we are going to come and break into their houses,” HOA President Gail McNulty said.
Added Director Catherine Brians: “It is not a short process; it’s not something we jump into arbitrarily. I’m really not interested in going into people’s houses and saying, ‘This is a mess.'”
The policy relies on residents of the 6,323 unit HOA to report those they suspect of hoarding. Once a complaint is filed, an inspection would be ordered, according to the policy, which is aimed at preventing safety hazards and protecting HOA property. In United Mutual, residents are part of a corporation, which owns all real property such as the residential units and carports.
Director Roger Turner said the policy is about looking out for residents who live near hoarders. “It is most repulsive to be a neighbor next to somebody who has inappropriate amounts of clutter,” Turner said.
Hoarding is the failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless and take up living spaces that can’t be used because of clutter, according to the task force. Compulsive hoarding is considered a mental disorder that can become a health and safety hazard.
Orange County Fire Authority receives more than a dozen calls a month from people reporting hoarding. Of those calls, about 30 percent represent a danger in the home or fire code violations, according to OCFA.
The county Heath Care Agency’s Older Adult Services has received on average more than 200 referrals a year of adults living in hazardous conditions because of hoarding, according to a task force report. The task force is a volunteer group of city code enforcement officers, firefighters, and county health professionals and social workers that provide education to individuals and resources for hoarding cases in Orange County.
The policy is the first of its kind in Orange County, according to the Orange County Task Force on Hoarding. There are no Orange County cities with ordinances specifically prohibiting clutter because of hoarding, even though incidents are often reported to city code enforcement officers, said Margaret Riley, chairwoman of the task force and code enforcement manager in Buena Park. Riley said she was unaware of another HOA in the county with a similar policy.
Under the policy, the HOA board must get residents’ permission to enter units to follow up on reports. Residents who refuse inspections will be called before the board for a disciplinary hearing.
If the board determines the hoarding policy has been violated, the resident would have 15 days to remove the clutter. If a resident refuses, the board could seek a court order to force the resident to remove the clutter, fine the resident, suspend the resident’s privileges in the community or proceed with eviction.
—-
Related Resource: International Exchange on Hoarding
