Puzzling over what’s next

“I can think of all kinds of things I don’t want to do,” she said.

Peterson said the valuations she has received for her home since the city began working with residents to assess their properties this spring are far below what it would cost to put a down payment on another home close to her family, doctors and community.

As the owner of a floating home, or a home resting on a floating cement barge, Peterson said two appraisals she received for her property indicate she would have to forfeit an estimated $57,000 of whatever price she might receive for her home to cover the costs of demolishing it since no marinas nearby will accept floating homes.

“You can’t sell it to anybody else because they’d have to be able to move it and there’s no place to move it to,” she said. “So we have no choice but to sell it to the city.”

How residents of the marina — where an estimated 100 residents live — will respond to the relocation plan has loomed over the community for months since the City Council voted unanimously to approve the Final Docktown Plan, estimated to cost $10.4 million, with about $4 million for acquisition of barge-based dwellings like Peterson’s. Part of a lawsuit settlement with an attorney and Docktown neighbor that found the floating community to be a violation of the public trust, the plan requires residents to vacate the marina by early 2018 and outlines how the city will assess housing alternatives, criteria for relocation assistance and a timeline for property appraisals.

City spokeswoman Meghan Horrigan confirmed in an email that the relocation process is proceeding with many tenants having moved or agreeing to move by the deadline Feb. 28, 2018.

Having received valuations for her home from two separate appraisers, one of whom is hired by the city and one of whom she hired independently, Peterson now awaits word from a third party expected to settle the score between the two valuations she received so far, which roughly range from $128,000 to $240,000.

Though she felt uncomfortable signing the agreement to move out of the marina next year before she received the final value for her home, Peterson said she signed the document to preserve her eligibility for incentives the city is offering for those who move out by next year’s deadline.

‘Like a small town’

In 1990, Peterson’s daughter Connie Giomi convinced her to move from a Redwood City apartment to Docktown, where Giomi and her brother, Clint Herbst, lived at the time. Though she doesn’t know how to swim and wasn’t entirely comfortable living on water, Peterson said she grew accustomed to a new lifestyle at Docktown.

“This place is like a small town,” she said, adding that it wasn’t long before residents recognized her and her family members just by looking at them.

Though Giomi eventually moved to Kansas, Peterson stayed, finding the liveaboard fees she was charged to keep her vessel at the dock to be much more affordable on her fixed income than rent. She spent several years making improvements to her home, but has stopped investing in it in recent months as her future plans have been suspended.

Giomi said Docktown has long been the only viable housing option for her mother, who has lived in Redwood City since 1962.

“The stress level is what I worry about for her,” she said.

Where next?

Peterson is puzzling over the question of where she will live alongside Giomi’s 20-year-old daughter, Nicole Giomi, who moved in with her to help Peterson with her health after she graduated from high school. Though she was taking classes at Foothill College when she moved in with Peterson some three years ago, Nicole Giomi is taking a break from classes to save money and is now working two jobs in San Carlos that are walkable from her grandmother’s home.

For Nicole Giomi, it’s tough to imagine living apart from her grandmother or in any other city. Born in Redwood City, Nicole Giomi moved to Kansas with her family when she was 9 years old and returned to Docktown as soon as she felt she could. She has many fond memories of running along the docks with her three brothers when she was a child and watching wildlife such as seals and egrets from the docks.

“Redwood City is my home,” said Nicole Giomi. “No matter where I move to, Redwood City has always been my home.”

Relocation process

Docktown resident Lee Callister said many boat owners have been disappointed with the appraisals they are receiving on their vessels, which he said don’t take into account their value as a residence. He knows many who are, like Peterson, awaiting a third opinion on the two appraisals they’ve received. But he also knows of others, unconvinced much will change, who have signed the agreement they will move out by Feb. 28 to preserve their eligibility for early move-out incentives.

Callister appealed the relocation process in July, detailing concerns about the thoroughness of the valuation he received for the four boats he owns at Docktown and fairness of the staggered timeline for delivering appraisals, which he said put those receiving appraisals early in the process at a disadvantage. Horrigan said that all appeals have been heard by an independent hearing officer, and each tenant who participated in an appeal has received a determination.

Resident Alison Madden said the pressure of facing deadlines to sign a move-out agreement before receiving a final appraisal on their properties has taken a toll on those who are left sorting through what they consider to be untenable options. She said many of the residents who have already vacated the marina were already planning to do so and may not have been depending on their vessels as their primary residence, leaving those with fewer options still living at the marina and wondering what’s next for them.

“I’m very used to moving, so I’ll be OK,” said Madden, acknowledging that moving can be exceedingly difficult for those with fewer resources and challenges such as health conditions. “I’ll be able to bounce back OK, but I’m more concerned about the people here who are telling me they can’t.”

When asked what factors play the biggest role for her as she considers her next steps, Peterson said she can only think about how few options there are for the many obstacles she faces.

“I wish I didn’t have to think about it,” she said. “I don’t have the slightest idea what to do.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102