Residents to fight evictions: Apartment building sold, new owners plan big renovation

A batch of residents had their leases terminated almost immediately after the building was sold and were given until Oct. 4 to move out.

A second batch of residents, about a dozen, have until November to move out.

Although Spieker would not speak with the Daily Journal directly, his lawyer Bob Burmeister did.

Burmeister said the tenants must go for major interior and exterior renovations at the Terrace Capri Apartments, a gate community at 1491 Hess Road, 441 Poplar and 403 Poplar avenues, near Woodside Road and Highway 101.

“There’s been almost no work on the property in nearly 50 years. We really have no logical choice,” Burmeister said about having the tenants vacate.

The plans are to renovate unit by unit and eventually every resident will have their leases terminated in waves, he said.

The rents are also below market rate and will be raised once work is complete, Burmeister said.

Many of the remaining residents do not want to move, are seeking more time to move or will ask for relocation assistance. Others said they will not move until the property owner gets a court order to force them out.

About 40 residents are forming the tenants association and have sought out help from Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto and the San Francisco Organizing Project/Peninsula Interfaith Action.

Last Thursday, SFOP/PIA conducted several demonstrations in the Bay Area including in San Mateo at Central Park and a march on the Spieker-owned property in Redwood City.

The group contends escalating rents have caused an unprecedented housing crisis in the region that is forcing poor people out of the area.

Some of the tenants at the Terrace Capri did say their rents were low compared to other communities.

Rents are up in the county by 50 percent in four years to an average of more than $2,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

And according to the Housing Leadership Council, in the last three years, the county has increased employment by 40,000 workers but only built 3,000 new homes. The shortage of housing causes horrible traffic, makes recruitment and retention for local businesses difficult, and is driving up rents across the county.

Many low-wage earners can no longer afford to live in the county while a new glut of high-tech workers and other professionals can.

But one of the tenants at the Terrace Capri is a high-tech worker.

Joseph Brown is a video game maker who was born and raised in Redwood City. He pays less than $1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

Tech workers, too, need to live somewhere, Brown said.

He has started to look around for somewhere else to live but said it’s almost pointless considering the lack of housing, not just affordable, in the area.

“I can work here but can’t live here where I was born and raised,” Brown said about Redwood City. His mother also lives in the complex and he helps pay some of her bills.

Another tenant, Paul Beech, has lived at Terrace Capri with his wife and son for three years. The family is dealing with some medical issues and the bills have become a “nightmare,” Beech said.

As soon as the building was sold, a notice was sent to tenants that they would have to start paying for water and garbage.

Beech, a personal trainer, and his family need more time to relocate.

He is willing to stay in his home and force ownership to get a court order to force him out. The family even had to resort to asking for donations for a surgery his wife needs that insurance will not cover.

Once the building was sold, tenants said workers descended on the property quickly without warning. The gate that encloses the community is now open all day while some of the renovations get underway. Each unit is having a washer and dryer installed and new kitchen cabinets.

Tenants, however, were not given notice that the work would start. There is no longer a property manager on site, they said.

“We should be paying less rent while they renovate,” Beech said.

Beech and Brown said ownership is likely forcing people out in waves rather than all at once to keep them from organizing.

“They are hoping we don’t stand up,” Brown said.

Daniel Saver, a lawyer with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, said it’s a new tactic property owners are using to avoid bad publicity.

“Effectuating evictions in ‘waves’ like this is a new trend that we’ve identified during the last few months,” Saver wrote in an email. “We believe it is designed to avoid setting off a collective response from residents and the consequent PR nightmare like at 910 Clinton.”

Residents at 910 Clinton St. in Redwood City were evicted for renovations and Saver helped negotiate relocation assistance for them from new ownership.

“The goal is to keep the residents from being displaced whatever it takes,” said Adriana Guzman with SFOP/PIA. She helped organized the march on the property last Thursday. Similar actions took place in Oakland, Mountain View and San Mateo.

Spieker’s attorney, however, said he has not heard from any of the tenants at the complex and did not know they were rallying to fight displacement.

“We haven’t heard from any of the tenants,” Burmeister said.

He said Spieker’s goal is to improve the entire complex to make it a “safer and better place to live.”

Spieker is “the type of person who tries to cooperate with residents,” Burmeister said.

He may be willing to negotiate with tenants for longer stays or relocation assistance, Burmeister said.

bill@smdailyjournal.com

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