City to Weigh Tougher Law on Slumlord Violations

THOUSAND OAKS — Responding to last month’s discovery of a ramshackle village near the city’s downtown, city leaders will consider drawing up an ordinance aimed at hauling slum landlords into court faster and slapping them with harsher fines.

Saying last month’s discovery of the overcrowded ghetto has tarnished the city’s reputation and threatened property values, Councilman Andy Fox is proposing a new city law that would allow officials to take property owners to court as soon as rundown conditions are discovered.

Currently, Thousand Oaks code officials look into problems at properties based on neighbors’ complaints.

After determining that violations exist, they serve property owners with a notice to correct the problems and grant them time to do so. Criminal action is seen as a last resort to achieve compliance.

But Fox said the city needs to come down hard on landlords as soon as substandard conditions are uncovered.

Last month, at a lot near the intersection of Royal Oaks and Sunset drives, about 50 immigrant workers were found crammed into four small houses and several unapproved living spaces, including metal tool sheds, storage areas and garages.

Inspectors said the structures were filled with life-threatening hazards, such as faulty electrical wiring and inadequate plumbing.

Most of the residents were ordered to vacate the unsafe property.

“In these extreme, rare cases, when people are so far out of line, we need criminal charges at the outset,” Fox said. “What I’m saying is upon inspection, we’re not going to make [landlords] correct it and then we’ll go away. We’ll seek fines and maybe jail time.”

Jim Friedl, the Thousand Oaks city attorney who handles code violations, said currently property owners cannot be charged with more than a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

Fox said he wants a city ordinance that ensures that owners of rundown and unsafe properties are hit with a $1,000 penalty for each violation that goes uncorrected. And he wants landlords who don’t pay the fines to do jail time.

“The object of this is to make it hurt,” Fox said. “A $1,000 fine is a slap on the wrist for some of these people.”

Fox also suggests code inspectors be more proactive in finding unsafe properties and not rely solely on neighbors’ complaints.

His proposal will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Code inspectors last month gave the owners of the Royal Oaks and Sunset property, Al and Joy Silver of Westlake Village, 30 days to correct housing violations. Officials said they do not intend to take criminal action against the Silvers unless they fail to fix up the property.

*

On Friday, Joy Silver said an extensive cleanup project is underway at the property and two big dumpsters have been filled with debris. She referred questions to her Thousand Oaks attorney, Chuck Cohen).

Cohen was unavailable for comment. But Shawn Mason, an attorney with Cohen’s law firm, said he and the Silvers will meet with city officials next week.

“We just want to know with as much specificity as possible what we need to do to bring all the code violations into compliance,” Mason said.

Friedl said Fox’s proposal represents a departure from current code policy because it would expedite criminal action against owners of rundown property.

Fox suggests that the city incorporate parts of its rental, public nuisance and other ordinances, along with state health and safety codes, into a single slumlord ordinance.

Laws to prevent unsafe rental conditions exist, Friedl said, but “not packaged in one code.”

*

City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, however, called Fox’s proposal unnecessary. She said the city could solve many of its housing problems simply by enforcing existing ordinances.

“What is needed is not more paperwork,” she said. “What we need is the council to direct the city staff to more vigorously enforce existing ordinances.

“We have slums that the city tries to hide. We need to direct the city staff to go out and look for them on a proactive basis. . . . It’s a lack of commitment, not a lack of laws.”

Zeanah said the city should start by targeting the downtown area near the recently uncovered ghetto.

“It is a pocket, a blight on the city, and we need to go in there,” she said.

Dan Hardy, director of the affordable housing group Many Mansions, said a slumlord ordinance would benefit exploited tenants and the city as a whole.

“It seems to me that the city of Thousand Oaks does a great job of planning up front, to require buildings to be beautiful and make sure the designs are beautiful,” Hardy said. “There should be more effort to make sure things stay beautiful. . . . Tenants on the whole are unaware of their rights. It’s time for the city to step in on their behalf.”