To
The Honorable City Council, Weed Abatement Manager, County Executive, City of Santa Clara,
CA.
Dear Sirs/Madams,
In the past 25 years of our living here, there was hardly any violation from City authorities; When any minor thing came up we duly complied and took care of the issue rightaway.
This time, it rained continuously for a few days; Hardly leaving us any time to attend to the sidewalk area cleanup.
Now, in addition to cleaning the sidewalk and removing bushes from there, we removed all the bushes in our front yard as well.
Upon approaching again, the county official visited us and liked our work.
We have attached photos and the email sent by the county official for your kind reference.
We request that in light of what's been done, our property name be removed from the weed program.
We assure you that we will comply with the authorities in future as always.
I have attached the current photos of the sidewalk and front yard.
Sincerely yours,
Sahaja. Talla and Sandhya. Talla,
2536 amethyst dr 95051
To Whom it May Concern,
I wish to contest the listing of my property (1693 Los Padres Blvd, Santa Clara) on page 5 of the 2024 City of Santa Clara inspection list for weeds.
1. This is the first occasion my property has been listed for weed inspection.
2. My property was apparently inspected in early April 2023, before the unusually heavy rains had stopped that year.
3. There were found some weeds (under 36" tall) in one area of my front yard. I waited for the rains to be over before removing them, to avoid extra removal work.
4. I had never been aware of any County or City weed rules or deadlines for weed removal until I received a notice in April of 2023.
5. Even before I received the notice on or about April 11, 2023, I had already removed the weeds.
6. At no time did these weeds die, dry out, or pose any degree of fire hazard, as they were still very green and growing when I removed them.
7. I intend to keep my property free of tall weeds during the inspection season (April to October) and free of fire hazards all of 2024 and in the future.
For all these reasons, I request that my address be removed from the list of properties to be inspected for weeds in 2024.
Thank you,
Dave Decot
Regarding the property located at 2110 Ventura Place; Santa Clara, CA 95051 I am very conscientious about keeping my lawn attractive and safe by periodically and consistently mowing the grass to about four inches and removing weeds. I was informed by letter (envelope dated April 14, 2023), however, that I was non-compliant with the county's minimum fire safety standards.
For this reason I was placed in the Weed Abatement Program. During a subsequent phone conversation with Madeline Wien and Moe Kumre, I was told that the grass on my property was over six inches high.
A measuring stick was not used when the lawn was photographed, so the height of the grass on the date the photo was taken (please see) is completely subjective on the part of the inspector. The grass may have been only 5-7/8 inches high!
More importantly, in March of the same year I had been suffering from chest pains for about two and a half weeks. My cardiologist sent me to El Camino Hospital emergency room, as I was suffering from a heart attack and heart failure.
After spending five days in the hospital following an invasive procedure, I was sent home to convalesce.
The cardiologist strongly advised me to not to exert myself for a number of weeks. (A letter from my cardiologist will be submitted upon request.) This was the main reason that I was unable to mow the lawn. (As a matter of fact, my brother in law cut the grass for me, just a few days after the photo was taken but prior to us receiving the Weed Abatement letter.)
I would appreciate it if you would remove me from the Weed Abatement Program.
Sincerely,
Michael Stern
January 19, 2024
To Whom it May Concern,
This letter is in regards to the weed abatement letter that I received last year.
After receiving the letter, I attempted to contact the weed abatement program on 3 occasions and left 3 messages, both with people and on voicemails. I never received any calls back.
I have lived in my home for almost 54 years and we have never received a notice. I think it is important to note that last year the amount of rain we received was excessive and plants and weeds were growing at an exponential amount.
My understanding, now that I have finally reached a person at the program this year, is that a county official drove by on April 14th, 2023 and saw that my weeds, mixed in with flowers, were greater than 6 inches tall.
I had just received a puppy from Canine Companions (to raise for a disabled person) and was in the midst of going outside every 2 hours with this puppy. It was not expected that I would get this puppy at this time; she came earlier than expected. At this time, weeds were literally growing 2-3 inches a day.
Please see the attached photo. This photo was taken on April 9th, as date stamped on my phone. As you can see, the poppies are significantly taller than the weeds. Supposedly, according to your records, these weeds were out of compliance in less than one week, which is possible since they were growing so fast.
I hope you will offer grace, as I was in a challenging spot with a new puppy (raising for a disabled person, not myself) and knowing that I have never been out of compliance.
It is also important to note that it was very frustrating experience that no one called me back last year when I wanted to ask several questions. It certainly took extra time that I did not have, raising a puppy and working.
I am requesting that you waive the fee and remove me from the weed abatement program.
Thank you for your consideration