I still do not understand the tactics that the City of Sacramento is employing to “revitalize” downtown, K Street in particular. Read today in the Bee that the city is suing developer Moe Mohanna to force him to trade property with Joe Zeiden. This would give Zeiden the 700 block and Mohanna the 800 block. I have ranted about this in the past, and you’ll be happy (or much more likely, unhappy) to know that I’m still up for more ranting.
I don’t really follow development all that much. It’s one of those things I don’t really care about. But I do follow the ineptitude of elected officials. I’m aware that Mohanna has owned buildings in downtown for a while, and as things have slowly gone downhill on K Street he has gained a bad reputation. Sure, if he has mismanaged his assets or failed to do the upkeep that’s on him. But much of the reason things have gone downhill on K Street are social and law-and-order problems that are squarely the city’s responsibility. The city’s attempt to physically rearrange things on K Street makes it seem like it wants to continue to place blame for any downturn on K Street on the shoulders of developers. Hey, if we put a Tiffany’s on K Street I’m sure the vagrants will just walk elsewhere, right? Problem solved!
And don’t even get me started about relocating the St. Rose of Lima Light Rail Station. John Q. over at RT Driver makes an excellent point about why it is a terrible idea.
The Sac Rag 
Mohanna’s failure to maintain his buildings is a factor, if not a major reason, in the social issues around K Street. Keeping old buildings vacant and ill-maintained is an open invitation for homeless folks to use them as squats, which means greater risk of things like fires, and experience with “problem-oriented policing” around the country have shown that in areas where small laws are allowed to lapse (like graffiti and vandalism) big laws get broken, but in places where those issues are addressed, other crime problems drop too. And while that is a city problem too, Mohanna has been complicit in letting his buildings rot while he waits for pie in the sky.
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has he been cited for fire code violations or negligence? isn’t there some sort of law to prevent squatting that goes after the owner of the building being squatted?
i know i can report my neighbor for not maintaining his property, has that been done on his properties?
why is the city continuing to do business withhim, why not use eminent domain to force him out of the buildings he owns if it’s so bad?
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