While unsafe housing hasn't made big headlines recently, the death of a Simi Valley man and injuries to his girlfriend and infant two years ago sparked a political call to action.
Whether with a sophisticated, three-agency program like Simi Valley's or a rental inspection program that is awaiting implementation in Moorpark, cities are responding to that call.
In January 2005, the Cochran Street blaze revealed the house and garage were illegally converted and housed 13 tenants. Some lived in two trailers parked in the driveway.
While a state law says cities can't define what a household is or how many people can live under one roof, planning officials say cities can check for code violations. Those include illegal garage or shed conversions, illegal electrical wiring and other conditions that are indications of overcrowding.
In October of that year, Simi Valley implemented the Municipal Unsafe Structure Tracking System. MUSTS allows three Simi Valley city divisions — planning, building and safety, and code enforcement — to jointly track potentially dangerous housing conditions. The system streamlines inspections, notifications, reports and legal documentation needed before the city can act.
"It's been going really well," said Steve Berry, the supervising building inspector for the program.
He said of the 551 complaint referrals the city has received since starting the program, 405 cases were brought into compliance or were on the path to it. He said about half of the cases involve absentee landlords. But there are some cases that continue to be problems, Berry said.
Red tape tangles up residents
For instance, violations continue on a property at Fig and Apricot streets, which has at least three illegal dwelling structures and a detached garage built without a permit, Berry said.
"This case is really involved, we have ongoing enforcement there," Berry said.
Although the MUSTS program is up and running at full capacity, with two inspectors and one supervisor, one resident thinks there should be an easier way to get questions answered about an ongoing case.
"The city of Simi Valley's services are not very user-friendly," said Kathy Blackwell, who lives on Fig Street. "You have to be down there every day complaining. If you don't follow up, then they go on to bigger and better things."
Blackwell went before the council in September 2005 to report people sleeping in a camper shell in a neighboring driveway next to a van that also serves as a home, while others live in two houses on the same property.
Since that council meeting, the camper has been removed, but, she said, she put a combination lock on her mailbox.
"If Simi Valley is going to restrict peddling and panhandling, the least they could do is protect the integrity of the neighborhoods," Blackwell said.
Cities address substandard housing conditions differently. Other nearby cities, such as Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills, handle possible overcrowding issues on a complaint basis, and inspections are done by the code enforcement departments.
Jeff Ware, code enforcement manager for Thousand Oaks, said the city doesn't view overcrowding as a high-priority issue.
"We deal with it on a complaint basis," Ware said. "We have a city that has a mixed housing stock."
He said examples of complaints range from people living with no access to water to people living in cars.
"Garage conversions are a part of that," Ware said.
In July, Moorpark approved a rental inspections program that would require landlords to get permits that include annual renewals and possible follow-up inspections.
Mandatory inspections
While the program was approved eight months ago, some details, including how many city employees are needed for the inspections, still need to be worked out.
Like Simi Valley, the landlord or property owner will be responsible for bringing the property up to code or for removing the substandard condition.
An initial inspection by the Ventura County Fire Department is mandatory for the rental authorization permit, which costs $180 for a single-family house and $60 for an annual renewal. The cost for a dwelling with four or more units is at least $240 plus $5 for every unit. The annual renewal is $90.
There are 1,100 apartments and 700 to 1,000 single-family homes and duplexes in Moorpark that are affected by the city ordinance.
The Moorpark ordinance also says smoke detectors would be required in every bedroom and in common areas such as hallways.
As much as 12 percent of California's housing fails basic health and safety codes and is considered substandard, according to 2006 Department of Housing and Community Development estimates.
Skyrocketing housing prices and dwindling apartment vacancies also are reasons Ventura County residents make unsafe living choices.
"I think the ordinance, similar to Simi Valley's, doesn't have any teeth," Blackwell said. "People are going to do what they have to do to keep a roof over their heads."
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_5410536,00.html
Home 
