By Cecily Burt
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 07/14/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT
The Alameda County grand jury has published a scathing review of Oakland's Building Services division, and its conclusions likely will spark a thorough overhaul of the department responsible for handling inspections and code violations for blight and illegal construction.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said the grand jury's findings are a top priority and one of the first things that incoming City Administrator Deanna Santana will take up.
The panel concluded that significant improvement is needed in several areas, including the abatement process; policies, procedures and training; information, communication and data management; due process (notices, liens, fees and fines); contracting; and appeals.
The civil grand jury elected to investigate Oakland's Building Services, which is a division of the Community and Economic Development Agency, after receiving numerous complaints from property owners about excessive and arbitrary fees and liens, and abusive and retaliatory treatment by inspectors, among other things.
Similar complaints were the catalyst for a grand jury investigation 11 years ago, but the recommendations from that panel -- that liens be used as a last resort and that inspectors focus on code violations to those that threaten life, health and safety -- were ignored, the 2011 grand jury noted. Conditions have grown worse since then, it said.
"The Grand Jury is appalled by the actions of the city of Oakland's Building Services Division and its impact on property owners of Oakland. "... The division's practices and its treatment of property owners appear to be a direct reflection of poor management, lack of leadership, and ambiguous policies and procedures," it wrote in its final report, released June 28.
The panel interviewed property owners and current and former city employees. It subpoenaed about 50 property files that had code violations and requested documents from property owners.
It also compared Oakland's laws and procedures regarding blight abatement and property code violations with those in San Jose and San Francisco. The panel found those cities' rules and procedures more neutral and fair to property owners.
The panel noted "an atmosphere of hostility and intimidation toward property owners" by Oakland inspectors and supervisors, and it suggested that the city re-evaluate the policy of giving inspectors law enforcement authority. The grand jury also criticized the speed with which inspectors declared properties blighted and slapped prospective liens on properties.
The final report included several examples in which liens were recorded before issuing an abatement notice and before the property owner had a chance to respond or appeal the blight abatement order. The liens ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars and often had no relation to the actual costs of unpaid fines or abatement work.
The conclusions were no surprise to Michelle Cassens, a property inspector whose unhappy experience with the department started after she and her husband, Gwillym Martin, in March 2008 bought a West Oakland Victorian duplex built around 1888.
Cassens said she was cited for constructing an illegal second downstairs unit and ordered to remove it, despite records that show the unit has been part of the house for more than 100 years.
From May to September 2009, the couple tried to appeal the case, but each request was discarded or denied, Cassens said.
On Aug. 3, 2009, former Building Services Manager Antoinette Renwick issued a demolition order for their house and gave them two weeks to get out. A $50,000 lien was placed on their property.
Since then, Cassens has made it her mission to expose fraud and abuse by Oakland's building inspection department. She created the AuditOaklandCEDA blog and sent letters to 2,000 property owners she identified through public records as having had a prospective lien placed on their property. She urged them to file a written complaint with the grand jury.
Cassens also discovered that Renwick had taken out a $50,000 loan from a contractor who landed the majority of hauling and demolition business from the city's inspectors. The contractor, it turns out, is Renwick's relative. Cassens reported it to the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Renwick resigned Oct. 15. The panel concurred that the department's contracting policies were flawed and the access granted the contractor contributed to an "appearance of impropriety."
Cassens said she feels vindicated by the grand jury's report, but her nightmare is not over. She's had to hire an attorney; the nest egg she and Martin hoped to spend on their home is gone.
Andrew Vincent also was embroiled in a battle with Building Services over a fence he didn't build and a concrete basement that does not exist in his North Oakland fourplex. Vincent, an electrical contractor, said he was victimized by an overzealous building inspector after he complained that flooding in his yard was caused by a neighbor's unpermitted construction.
Vincent said he tried to appeal his case through normal channels but was denied that opportunity. He was forced to sue the city to have $48,000 worth of liens removed. That effort, he said, has cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars that he will never get back.
Vincent said the biggest problem is the lack of due process afforded Oakland property owners. It's nearly impossible to file an appeal, and the few that are scheduled are a "kangaroo court," he said.
"The Oakland Municipal Code is quite clear, that your appeal is to be heard by someone who is not employed by the city," he said. "Appeals are filed, but denied by someone in the department."
In a statement, the city concurred with much of the grand jury's analysis, especially as it involves the city's code enforcement for blight.
Quan said the department is understaffed, undertrained and in need of a computer system that can track every action, citation, appeal and correspondence with property owners.
"That's one of the things (new City Administrator) Deanna (Santana) and I need to take on as soon as she starts," she said. "They need consistency. I don't think it's corrupt at this point; at least not at this point. "... I haven't had a chance to look at it."
Quan said the department has begun to limit liens and make a better effort to notify property owners. However, she does think that liens, if used judiciously, can be effective for getting rid of truly nuisance properties, such as the Hillcrest Motel.
"We have to make sure they are reviewed, and there is no possibility of corruption," she said.
Contact Cecily Burt at 510-208-6441. Follow her at Twitter.com/csburt.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18469895
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