|
OAKLAND -- The Hillcrest Motel, a magnet for drug and
criminal activity on MacArthur Boulevard and Lincoln
Avenue, police say, will be shuttered by the beginning
of September. Yellow
"Order To Vacate" signs are posted on each
door of the motel, declaring it a public nuisance and
telling residents it will close by Sept. 7.
Both
officials at the City Attorney's Office and the attorney
representing motel owners Yurning, Yufong and Kaiying
Chou of Hillsborough say the Hillcrest will not only be
shut but demolished.
Its
demise is a victory for Dimond area residents who have
been working for 25 years to have it cleaned up or
closed.
"It's
a victory for us and it's a victory for other
neighborhoods," said neighborhood activist Marcel
De Gross. "People can see now there is a way to
deal with this sort of blight and blatant disregard for
people's safety in their neighborhood.
"Other
people need to look at this and say, 'we don't need to
put up with this in our neighborhood either,'" he
said.
Officials
from the City Attorney's Office, Neighborhood Law Corps,
city building department and Councilmember Jean Quan's
office brought a case against the Hillcrest before an
administrative judge in May after researching years of
complaints. They wanted the Chous to clean up the
property and provide extra on-site security.
The
judge ordered the Chous to comply with 17 restrictions
-- including providing 24-hour security, installing
video cameras and a fence and updating registration
software -- to continue operating their business.
The
Chous' lawyer, David Roth, said the Chous were prepared
to sign the agreement, then decided not to. "It's
just not economical to run it so he's going to be
closing down the motel," Roth said.
He
said the property is under contract to be sold, and the
buyer may build apartments there. Regardless of its
future use, the Hillcrest buildings, some which have
been destroyed by fire, will be torn down.
In
the meantime, the owners are being charged $1,000 a day
by the city's code enforcement department until it is
returned to a productive use, Deputy City Attorney
Pelayo Llamas said.
The
Chous also must pay the cost of relocating long-term
residents of the property. According to Oakland law,
residents who have lived on the property for more than
30 days are eligible to receive $1,400 to about $2,200
in moving costs.
Resident
Tanisha Love, who said she has been paying $800 a month
for the past nine months to live at the motel, said the
owners are using police intimidation tactics to scare
long-term residents into leaving before they collect
relocation payments.
She
has gathered paperwork to prove the dozen families still
at the motel are entitled to benefits.
"He
is going to have to legally evict us," Love
said.
Roth
said his clients will pay benefits to all tenants
entitled to benefits, and the Chous will research their
records to see who has been living at the motel for more
than 30 days.
Leah
Hess, a rental property attorney looking into the case,
said she is concerned the Chous will try to circumvent
their requirement to pay relocation fees and throw
long-term tenants -- including seniors and families with
children -- on the streets. She said the city should pay
relocation costs, then charge the Chous.
"If
they don't get this help, it makes people hesitant to
say there is something terribly wrong in my
apartment," Hess said.
Llamas
said city law states the city can advance relocation
payments to residents but it doesn't have to. The city
hasn't had money in its relocation fund for two years,
and is unlikely to pay the tenants and then try to get
it back from the Chous, he said.
|
