Burned Down and Boarded Up: The Danger of Empty Spaces

In the late morning of May 16, I was in my backyard when I smelled smoke. I looked up and saw a large dark cloud that was out of place on a bright, sunny day. As a photographer, I always have my camera ready, so I grabbed it and ran up to Georgia Street where I saw something startling and yet totally predictable: an abandoned house was on fire.

I documented the entire incident over the course of almost two hours. Many residents gathered to watch the San Diego Fire Department put out the fire. I spoke to a few folks and heard a rumor that a person was seen running out the back of the building when the fire started and was apprehended by SDPD, but I wasn’t able to confirm that.

Now the house is gone, hastily demolished after this fire, and the dangerous palm trees finally removed.

This incident is a prime example of how private property can often pose a public hazard. As residents of a community we deserve a safe environment. Yet private property without local presence and upkeep by the owner can result in various problems.

What we think of as a neighborhood is made up of a patchwork of private properties, public parks, and the roadways and walkways that knit it all together. When land and buildings are left unmanaged, the ownership and artificial lines of property become a public issue. Every abandoned house ready to burn, dead palm tree waiting to fall, or unused lots filling up with dog dropping bags do a disservice to us all.

The current system of private property leaves a gap in public safety with no clarity on how to solve it, only the necessity to clean it up. The University Heights community is no stranger to using our collective voice to exert influence over private property, but there’s no consistent method to do so.

Is it possible to imagine a system for residents of a neighborhood to absorb unused properties? Perhaps public trusts could buy the lots. They could call it “Compelled Stewardship” or “Revocation with Compensation due to Negligent Land Use.” Perhaps it is time for local citizens to demand an upgrade to ownership. The old concept of letting negligent property owners leave hazards around town while waiting to profit is not working.

I’m growing weary of seeing my neighbors exposed to these dangers. We deserve to have a beautiful neighborhood, and perhaps there is a path for community to invoke stewardship. Could we become true shareholders of our community? Or will we merely sink in the rising sea of abandoned lots waiting for their sale to mega-capital?