Trashed home puzzles officials

By Gwendolyn Crump -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, June 2, 2005

It began with a homeowners association's request for a Mills Ranch resident to cut his grass and trim his brush.

However, the owner's response - vandalizing his own house and property - has been a puzzler for the neighborhood and Rancho Cordova code enforcement officials.

Edward Bohanan, who allegedly spray-painted his house at 2300 Pecan Grove Way, chopped down trees and filled his yard with appliances, mattresses and other junk, faces a hearing this month for failing to clean up the mess by May 25.

"We've seen messy yards," said Yvonne DeHaan, the city code compliance manager, "(but) not deliberate vandalism like this."

Bohanan was unavailable for comment last week.

DeHaan said when officials returned to the neighborhood to see if the property had been cleaned up last week, they noticed more damage at Bohanan's other house, across the street on the 10400 block of Woodbridge Way.

She said Bohanan used a baseball bat to damage a late-model Mercedes-Benz parked in the driveway of the Woodbridge Way house. The car also is covered in graffiti referencing the milestone concert Woodstock.

"He is severely damaging expensive things," DeHaan said. "He's not threatening, but he's not cooperative."

DeHaan said the initial fine for failing to clean up the property was $240, and subsequent inspections will cost $335 each.

The city, fearing a fire hazard, began clearing brush from the yard. DeHaan said that last week the city boarded up the property, painted over the graffiti and concealed the junk. She said inspection will cost thousands of dollars, which the city will recover by placing a lien on the property.

The tension began May 7 when an architectural committee from the Mills Ranch Homeowners Association toured the neighborhood and issued 42 citations for upkeep violations.

The neighborhood is made up of 149 single-and two-story homes, many of which have well-manicured lawns.

"(Bohanan)was the only one who had a problem," association President Randy Housewright said. "He didn't care for the notice. He cut down mature trees and spray-painted his house. That was his answer.

"Some people have a problem with any type of authority."

Among other sayings spray-painted on the house in black paint is: "Ty said, take care of your own house."

DeHaan said some neighbors have conjectured that Ty is a reference to Ty Pennington, star of the reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," in which homes are revamped.

Neighbors are only guessing why Bohanan would vandalize his own property.

Russ Bishop, who has lived in the Mills Ranch neighborhood for 11 years, said that before the homeowner trashed his house, it looked nicer than most of the others.

Now, the house has become a magnet for onlookers.

"It's quite the tourist trap," Bishop said. "There's constant traffic to see the freak show."

DeHaan hopes to have the matter resolved soon.

"We want to give this neighborhood some peace," DeHaan said. "This neighborhood has not seen anything near this magnitude."

About the writer:

The Bee's Gwendolyn Crump can be reached at (916) 608-7453 or gcrump@sacbee.com.

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