Praise for stance on drug house

Neighbors on Weaverly Drive can rejoice.|

Neighbors on Weaverly Drive can rejoice. The city is finally taking aggressive action against a house that has been a huge blight on the neighborhood for years.

The east side home in question is responsible for more than 600 police calls in the past five years. It is well-known in the neighborhood as a drug house, one that has seen an endless parade of passing transients that stay for a few days before moving along.

The Petaluma Police Department has identified 153 people who have passed through the property since 2012. Besides an array of illegal activity that allegedly goes on at the house, neighbors have reported that the place has become an eyesore. Junk, including old cars and mattresses that have become infested with pests, has accumulated in the yard. The backyard pool resembles a swamp.

Neighbors say they have had to “live in fear,” with police foot pursuits through backyards, arrests of suspected sex offenders and drug users, and used syringes, condoms and beer bottles discarded in familie’s yards. Intoxicated people urinate in people’s gardens and scare their children.

Until now, the city’s approach has been to deal with the property owners by slapping them with code violations. This month, city officials took unprecedented legal action, going to court to seek up to $75,000 in fines from the owners while attempting to board up the house for a year.

We applaud the city for cracking down on the owners of this property and cleaning up the neighborhood. Hopefully, the residents of Weaverly Drive will finally get some relief.

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