White City Street property owner Lam C. Phan paid a $380 fine after pleading no contest this week to the misdemeanor of failure to remove junk, refuse and rubbish, city records show.

White City Street is in South Longview near Foster Middle School. Phan purchased the property, which includes about two dozen decades-old rental houses, in a tax sale in 2006. He has said he's cleaned the property since that time.

Court records show the offense happened on Feb. 21, when litter control officers found some abandoned lumber, a tire and some trash around the houses.

Development Services Director Kevin Cummings said his tour of the property on Friday revealed that junk was again at residents' doorsteps, and that porches to several of the houses are starting to collapse. Affected residents will likely get a two-week notice to address the problems before the property owner is notified, Cummings said.

"We would love for something positive to happen down there, and we're willing to work with any property owner to see what we can do," Cummings said. "Once a porch starts to go, it's not long before the actual structure starts to go. But they are still salvageable."

Phan said Friday he's heard nothing from the city, and no one has expressed interest in buying the property, which is for sale for $159,900.

"It's been a big mess," Phan said. "I cleaned up a lot, and I did everything they asked me to do."