Standing before the Fullerton City Council January 18, 2011 was Shannon Ellis, a long-time Fullerton resident, mother, Boy Scout mom, West Fullerton Little League team mom, and Fullerton College employee. Despite her selfless dedication to her husband, children, and West Fullerton neighborhood, she wasn’t at City Hall to receive any awards or certificates. Instead, Shannon was there to express her frustration for what many are characterizing as the systematic harassment of her family by Fullerton’s Community Preservation officers.
Shannon gives some background to her problem and explains how she has a pending criminal case as a result of her fig tree.
During summer months the fig tree grows quickly and produces fruit. Admittedly, during these summer months the tree extends beyond her 6-foot tall block wall and over the sidewalk on the other side of the wall, much like others around Fullerton as shown below.
But the Fullerton Community Preservation officers will have none of her fig tree over the wall. Instead, they will turn a blind eye to similar encroachments like those shown above so that they can focus their combined efforts on eradicating a fig tree from the sleepy 2400 West Olive neighborhood.
Just a few blocks north on West Avenue, residents have felt a similar squeeze by City Hall in the form of parking tickets. Fullerton police officers have been targeting the neighborhood and citing pickup trucks which are classified by the California Department of Motor Vehicles as commercial vehicles. Also being cited by the police officers are toy haulers and recreational trailers that are not attached to the tow vehicle.
These are but a snippet of the gauntlet Fullerton residents and taxpayers face having a Fullerton address.
Is it just dumb luck that enforcement officials are patrolling West Avenue and West Olive while ignoring neighborhoods in North Fullerton with similar conditions? Doubtful.
With the amended ordinances which will make it a crime to leave your trash cans out or throw a tarp to cover your leaking roof having been approved, many residents are concerned just how far the City’s Community Preservation officers will take these issues.
Despite assurances from “staff” seen here...
...that the ordinances will not be unfairly enforced, the abuse continues. As mentioned, Shannon is going to trial where she faces jail time and a stiff fine if she is found guilty – for a fig tree that has been cut back and is in full compliance with the Fullerton Municipal Code.
“We have gone to court half-dozen times now,” Shannon writes in an email to me. “Each time the city attorney has said we have not done enough…they are never going to be happy with anything we do.”
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| Unmaintained City-Owned Trees |
Moreover, she sees the City as “always out ‘beautifying’…other upscale areas of Fullerton but they barely come around to remove graffiti and trim trees in the areas they are ticketing.”
Shannon notes that she has been charged for not maintaining property she doesn't even own. Public records do not list her as the property owner.
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| "Non-compliant" trees over the public right-of-way |
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| "Non-compliant" trees and cacti over the public right-of-way |
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