Blighted Sonoma landmarks to be razed

Ugly may not be a code voilation, but unsafe and unsanitary is.|

After a decade of slow, steady decay, the dilapidated building at 15 Boyes Blvd., home for years to the long-defunct Uncle Patty’s Restaurant, is finally scheduled for demolition.

Tyra Harrington, code enforcement manager for the Sonoma County Permit and Resources Management Department (PRMD, or Permit Sonoma) addressed a crowd of about 30 people last month at the Nov. 15 Springs Community Alliance (SCA) meeting, updating attendees on Permit Sonoma’s progress since her last appearance before the community group in July.

“We’ve made significant progress on the old Uncle Patty’s building, and expect it to be demo’d in 60 days,” Harrington said.

The crowd of Springs residents gasped and broke into spontaneous applause, seemingly incredulous at the news.

The distressed property has been a burr in the saddle of the Springs Community Alliance since the organization was formed in 2010.

Prior to its closing in 2006, Uncle Patty’s Bar and Grill commonly drew the attention of law enforcement, with police responding to calls of bar fights and suspected drug sales at the roadhouse. Even after its closure, the site continued to attract criminal behavior, with vandalism of the derelict building a frequent complaint.

The building is owned by Karen Ann Waikiki, who owns and operates El Molino Central, a Mexican eatery a stone’s throw from Uncle Patty’s. Waikiki purchased Uncle Patty’s shortly after the roadhouse was shuttered in 2006, and submitted plans to Permit Sonoma in 2016 for a 28-seat restaurant with an additional 1,600-square-foot outdoor dining area.

Waikiki did not respond to the I-T’s request for an update, but Harrington at Permit Sonoma said that it appears Waikiki still intends to proceed with those plans. “She is working with a contractor to pull the demo permit,and I talked to a planner (from Permit Sonoma) who said they do have an application submitted for a restaurant, so it’s still viable,” Harrington said.

A second blighted building at 18625 Highway 12 is also likely soon to be razed. The old La Salette building, owned by George Weiler and located between the Sonoma Springs Community Hall and Fiesta Plaza, has also been scheduled for demolition sometime in January, according to Harrington. Surrounded by high weeds and marred front and back by graffiti, the building has been abandoned for years, its windows long sealed with decaying plywood.

Harrington encouraged residents to use Permit Sonoma code enforcement to help support community goals about mitigating blight. But at a Springs Community Alliance meeting focused on addressing blight last July, she cautioned that an unlovely aesthetic alone doesn’t qualify as an infraction. “It’s got to be a public nuisance, a general problem,” Harrington said then. “Ugly is not a code violation.”

Harrington said Permit Sonoma is actively working to enforce code in the Springs. “Code enforcement has been out here once a week since the July meeting. Towing vehicles, dealing with junk and debris. That’s what we do.”

To do that job effectively in a county that spans 166 square miles, Harrington said, Permit Sonoma code enforcers need participation from the public. “Unless we get a complaint, we don’t know,” she said.

Email Kate at kate.williams@sonomanews.com.

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