What can you do about the litter-strewn vacant lot down the street? What about the empty warehouse on the corner with the broken windows? Buildings and lots in an extreme state of neglect and disrepair fall under the category of "blighted property." San Francisco, like most municipalities, has laws against this kind of deterioration that help outline the maintenance obligations of property owners. 

The City makes it extremely easy to report blighted property. Simply call the Department of Public Works (DPW) at 311 to make your complaint. An agent will note the address of the property and issue you a tracking number for the case. You can then use this tracking number to follow up on whatever action has been taken.

If the site in question is owned by the City, the DPW will send out a crew right away to investigate and clean up the area. But if the property is privately held, the DPW will have to determine the owner's name and then contact that person about the applicable code violations. The owner will receive a notice from the city giving him or her 30 days to clean up and/or repair the property. If the owner does not respond or comply, the DPW may go there and do the work, billing the owner for the services or placing a lien against the property for repayment.

If the matter is just one bag of trash on the street or garbage bins left out all week, a DPW officer will investigate and have the situation remedied immediately. The responsible party will have to clean up the site as soon as possible or be issued a citation. If, however, the DPW officer has spoken to the offender previously, the officer may just issue a citation directly.

For more information on how to get involved in keeping San Francisco properties clean, green and beautiful, please visit the Web site for the San Francisco Clean City Coalition or call (415) 552-9201.