Elk Grove's East Franklin Blues, Part I

Weeds gone wild in East Franklin

Of all the neighborhoods in Elk Grove, East Franklin appears to be one of the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. A close look at the trustee sales notices in the Elk Grove Citizen will show many addresses in this part of town.

Construction and occupancy of most homes and businesses in East Franklin came just as home values peaked then started their long and painful plummet. The entire area was approved by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors prior to Elk Grove becoming an incorporated city.

One of the telltale visual signs of a foreclosed home is dried-up or weed-infested lawns. A drive through any of the East Franklin neighborhoods will reveal a bewildering number of foreclosed homes.

But what happens when a builder gets in trouble? A visit to the 'Monterey Village' section of East Franklin can provide a pretty stark answer - weed-infested medians and pathways among other things.

Although the entire planning area was approved by the board of supervisors, this specific area was granted permission to be rezoned.

Developed by Dunmore Homes of Granite Bay, Calif., their on-site sales office has been closed since September of last year. Shortly thereafter, in November to be exact, Dunmore filed for bankruptcy protection.

A drive in 'Monterey Village' will reveal many half-completed homes, the aforementioned sales office and a video surveillance camera, presumably to keep the meth-heads and tweakers from stripping the copper wire out of the construction sites.

A drive around the perimeter of the compound will reveal weed-infested sidewalks and pathways in areas that just a few months ago were nicely landscaped. So who is responsible for the maintenance of these landscape areas?

Usually, the property owners in the immediate neighborhood have a landscaping assessment attached to their property taxes. Until the property is sold, the developer is on the hook for the assessment.

It would appear with Dunmore's bankruptcy the payment to a landscape contractor has not been made, not to mention the water bill for the installed sprinkler system. So consequently the landscaped areas around 'Monterey Village' are over-run with weeds.

On the day these photos were taken, Friday, May 16, a crew from the city of Elk Grove was seen cleaning the north side (Blossom Ridge Dr.) of the compound. Hopefully, they will complete the job.

Too bad that the taxpayers of Elk Grove have to pay for the failings of the Dunmore's of Granite Bay. Let's just hope that it doesn't take years for this project to be completed.

This is the first in a three part series on East Franklin area in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis.