Deal emerges in San Jose blight site case; other court battle lingers The owner of a notorious site of blight in San Jose has reached a legal settlement with the city. Demolition equipment is visible on a bulldozed empty lot at 100 North Fourth Street near East San John Street in downtown San Jose, seen on Feb. 15, 2025. SAN JOSE — The owner of a notorious site of blight in downtown San Jose reached a court-supervised settlement with city officials, but a separate legal fight continues over a building that was scorched by one of several fires at the property. Three fires, a fatal drive-by shooting, homeless encampments, piles of burnt materials, stacks of debris and a dangerous dog are among the City officials threatened to seize control of the properties and use a court-appointed receiver to wrest their ownership from South Bay business executive Brent Lee in the wake of three blazes on the properties. The first fire, court papers state, occurred in November 2023 and caused damage to one or both of two Victorian-era houses with addresses of 146 and 152 North Fourth St.. It also damaged a residential building at 160 North Fourth St., according to documents filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court. San Jose didn’t follow through on the threats to take ownership of the property, but the city did use the receiver to coax the owner to bulldoze the property and remove piles of fire-scarred debris from the empty lots. If any other problems sprout at the bulldozed site at the corner of North Fourth Street and East St. John Street, Lee has 15 days to remedy any code violations or failures to comply with the legal settlement, court papers show.Sunding Brothers owns a two-unit residential complex at 160 North Fourth St. that was damaged in the August 2024 blaze. “The long history of warnings and citations relating to the safety and security of the Lee Properties and the lack of any improvement to the properties over the years shows that defendants have had notice of these issues for some time and still failed to make any improvements,” Sunding Brothers stated in its complaint against the Lee affiliate. Sunding Brothers demands the discovery of financial documents from Lee and his affiliates. Sunding seeks payment for the fire-caused damage. “Defendants have failed to contest that the fires occurred, failed to contest that they were aware of the potential harm, failed to contest that Sunding Brothers was damaged, and failed to contest that the city had been citing them for 6 years before the most damaging fire occurred,” Sunding stated in a filing in connection with the case. Lee declined to comment further on the situation when contacted by this news organization in October 2024.Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Roberta Hayashi has granted the motion for discovery of financial records, which could be a prelude to a jury trial. “The present facts show that Defendants were on explicit notice of the issues at its properties, going back to at least 2018,” Sunding Brothers stated in a court document. “The situation worsened and worsened over time.”Newsom issues 'final warning' to cities over housing law violations — only one is in the Bay AreaAsking Eric: Since I found the pictures of my wife, a new worry is gnawing at meDear Abby: The bride admitted to me that the wedding was a shamMiss Manners: They won't even set a menu until the guests arrive