Bill Silverfarb/Daily Journal A Burlingame home in the Lyon Hoag neighborhood has been hit with the same code enforcement violations for more than 10 years. Neighbors want the property owner to take better care of the home as they fear its disrepair will drive down home prices in the area.

A home in the Lyon Hoag neighborhood in Burlingame has suffered continuing code enforcement violations since 2001 and the property owners may face action by the city if they do not correct the violations within two weeks, according to the City Attorney's Office.

Residents near the home at 28 Bloomfield Road have complained for years about overgrown weeds, inoperative vehicles and other issues in a neighborhood filled with million-dollar homes.

The house is in disrepair, said Rob Cilia, who lives next door to the Bloomfield house and has called the city to try and get the property owner to clear up some of the violations.

Cilia contends the home's state of disrepair is having a negative impact on the property values on the block.

"In the past, after contact by the code enforcement officer, the owner would cut the weeds and remove the un-operative vehicle. Some violations regarding rodents and other health issues were referred to the county's Health Department. After corrections were made, over time, the violations would reoccur and the process would start over again,” Burlingame City Attorney Gus Guinan wrote the Daily Journal in an email.

Chris Eldredge, who lives at the home, told the Daily Journal yesterday that much of the violations are due to "family issues.”

"I understand it's annoying to neighbors and we will take care of it,” said Eldredge, a 32-year-old student who lives in the home alone. Eldredge's family, who mostly live in Lake County north of Santa Rosa, are the owners of the home.

"It will be cleaned up in the next couple of weeks,” Eldredge said.

The most recent violation originated in 2011 and involved an inoperative vehicle, Guinan wrote in the email.

"The Planning Division inspected the site, confirmed the violation and sent several letters for correction. When the owner failed to correct, the matter was referred to code enforcement division of the City Attorney's Office in August of 2011. Unfortunately, this referral was not acted upon at that time,” Guinan wrote in the email.

On Tuesday, the code enforcement officer drove by the location and confirmed continuing violations, Guinan wrote.

"Consistent with past practice, the code enforcement officer will be contacting the owner by the end of this week, identifying the code violations and directing the owner to remediate the violations within two weeks. Failure of the owner to correct the violations will result in this office initiating abatement proceedings before the City Council pursuant to provisions of the Burlingame Municipal Code,” Guinan wrote in the email.

Burlingame has only one part-time code enforcement officer and investigates and resolves about 150 verified complaints a year.

In 2012, the code enforcement division received more than 200 complaints.

"With the limited resources, the city attempts to respond and correct every violation,” Guinan wrote in the email.

Recently, residents complained to the city about another home in the Lyon Hoag neighborhood on Channing Road that has sat vacant and in disrepair for years.

That home too has a long history of code enforcement violations dating back about seven years that neighbors say is bringing blight and driving down property values in the area.

Some residents speculate the homeowners are sitting on their dilapidated properties for as long as possible to sell them at the height of the market since real estate in Burlingame is highly desirable.

The 28 Bloomfield Road property was built in 1915, has two bedrooms and sits on a 7,850-square-foot lot.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by email: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.