GILROY
– Rachel Muñoz said she invited about 300 landlords and property
managers to a workshop about how to make the city safer and more
fair for everyone.
GILROY – Rachel Muñoz said she invited about 300 landlords and property managers to a workshop about how to make the city safer and more fair for everyone.
How many did the community service officer expect to come? Well, she and other city staff set out about 60 chairs Wednesday evening in the Gilroy Senior Center.
She guessed right. About 60 landlords and property managers attended. Since many were in husband-wife pairs, the turnout was probably between 10 and 20 percent.
This, the fourth annual Landlords and Property Managers Workshop, was an opportunity for these people to hear about the warning signs that indicate criminal activity. It also was a chance for them to stay informed about the latest legal developments regarding evictions, security deposits and discrimination lawsuits.
Gilroy resident John Horanyak said he has problems with graffiti, garbage and loitering at the triplex he owns and manages. He came to the meeting curious about his options.
“They have all the rights,” he said of tenants.
In an exchange typical of the meeting, Horanyak asked Muñoz what to do about the loitering. She recommended erecting a city-issued “No trespassing or loitering” sign, which would give police permission to stop these activities. Horanyak wondered whether such a sign would make his property look like a crime zone – there hasn’t been a need for police to come there in a couple of years, he said – but Muñoz said police can’t do much without the sign.
Police Cpl. Robert Lockepaddon repeated Muñoz’s recommendation in a presentation about how to identify, stop and prevent gang and drug activity. Landlords also should paint out graffiti quickly, fix damages quickly, maintain outdoor lights, carefully screen applicants and document all problems, Lockepaddon said.
Eigleberry Street resident Victor Frias, representing the Gilroy Eigleberry Neighborhood Association, said he was glad to see a couple of landlords he had hoped would attend the meeting.
At a meeting the night before, Eigleberry residents complained about absentee landlords in their neighborhood – one in particular – who knowingly allow illegal drug activity to continue in their apartments. Host Maria Tamez said she confronted one landlord, but he responded that he did not care. According to Tamez, the landlord said he didn’t want to lose the suspect tenant’s guaranteed rent, subsidized by the federal Section 8 program, unless he had a new tenant on hand ready to pay $1,800 a month.
Adolfo Aldana is a property manager for an apartment complex on Eigleberry and another on East Seventh Street.
“The police help us a lot,” Aldana said.
When he started working there, he said, police were showing up several times a week. Now, they are hardly ever called.
The workshop consisted mostly of presentations and questions.
“We put out a lot of good information, we get a lot of good questions, … and most importantly, we get to know each other,” Police Chief Gregg Giusiana said in a brief opening address. “So if we have a problem with a landlord, a problem with a tenant, we know each other.”
Mayor Al Pinheiro told the landlords he hopes more of them maintain their properties “in a manner we can all be proud of” and reminded them that doing so improves the quality of their tenants.
Fran Turano of the Tri-County (Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz) Apartment Association talked about changing rental laws. Ultimately, she said, property owners and managers have to be very careful.
“The main thing is, it’s your investment; it’s your responsibility; it’s your community,” Turano said. “You’ve got to take care of it.”
