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Los Angeles Times
January 26, 2003
Would-Be Renters Try Luck at Caltrans Raffle
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writer
The event Saturday on the driveway of a home along Glenarm Street in Pasadena had all the trappings of an old-fashioned lottery. Orange and blue raffle tickets swirled in a metal drum as about 20 people crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.
"This is so exciting!" cooed one woman as the drum turned and a winning ticket was pulled.
The prize at stake was not a million-dollar payout but rather the chance to rent one of three homes, in the path of the proposed Long Beach Freeway extension, from Caltrans, the state agency that owns almost 600 homes in the area.
Because more than one family had qualified for the houses under strict guidelines set out by Caltrans, the lottery was held to provide a level playing field for would-be renters.
The first house, a three-bedroom, 2 1/4-bath house on St. John Avenue in Pasadena that will rent for $2,250 a month, was awarded to Dana and David Garber and their son, Devon.
Asked to describe the attributes of her new house, built in 1906, Dana Garber, a real estate agent, recited details with the singsong rhythm of someone who sells homes for a living. "It's got a big two-car garage, a bonus room, a sun porch -- and it's all Craftsman," she said.
Many of the Caltrans properties along the proposed extension of the Long Beach Freeway, from Alhambra to Pasadena, have been owned by the agency since the 1950s. At the time they were purchased, construction of the extension seemed imminent.
But since then, lawsuits, lobbying and legislation by some of the cities that would be affected by the freeway have managed to block its completion. Caltrans, as a result, has spent the last 30 years as a reluctant landlord to homes in Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno.
The older homes owned by the agency, many of which are in Pasadena, have long been a source of controversy for Caltrans. A mid-1990s rehab of 39 of the 92 historic homes nearly exhausted the $19.4 million Caltrans received for renovating them, according to a state audit. And many residents of the rehabbed homes have complained, both privately and in public forums, about faulty work and ongoing, unresolved maintenance issues.
Caltrans currently has 45 vacant homes in the Long Beach Freeway corridor, all of which, officials said, are in the process of being readied for rental. On Saturday, the agency's Web site listed 12 units available for rents ranging from $1,100 to $5,000 a month. It stated that in order to qualify for a house, applicants must have a gross monthly income of four times the amount their rent would be. That means that for the largest house in the group, a seven-bedroom, 3 3/4-bath house on Pasadena Avenue, a family's gross income would have to approach $250,000 a year.
The income requirements were no problem for Dana Garber. "We'd been thinking of selling our house in Glendale, for about $400,000 or so, and buying in the $600- to $700,000 range. When I looked at this list, I saw I could rent for $2,200 a month, and buy units instead, or rent out our house, and have my money working for me."
"My dad's girlfriend has lived in a Caltrans home in El Sereno for more than 25 years," Garber said, "and she's had no problems. I don't mind landlords; you take care of your own stuff."
Some affordable housing advocates who attended the raffle worried that the rents -- and the income requirements -- are too high. As a public agency, "Caltrans has a responsibility to use excess property in a way that furthers the opportunities for low-income people," said Michelle White, executive director of Affordable Housing Services in Pasadena.
But another renter, who asked that his name not be used, said he was surprised more people weren't in the running for the houses. His was the first name called for a 1,426-square-foot duplex unit, built in 1906, for which he and his wife will pay $1,235 a month.
He'll be happy to do so. "The homes are beautiful," the renter said. "It's kind of a windfall in terms of quality."
The following response is to the LA Times article regarding the lottery.
Response to "Would-Be Renters Try Luck at Caltrans Raffle"
Over Six months ago Assembly Member Carol Liu met in Sacramento with the director of Cal Trans, Jeff Morales, to develop a local Task Force to address these rental properties. Because of Cal Tran's lack of follow through and good faith, Assembly Member Liu returned to the State Capital this past December with Assembly Member Jackie Goldberg and introduced a Bill, (AB21) to force Cal Trans to address these property issues. With the second Task Force meeting scheduled for some time in February, it is obvious that Cal Trans is continuing to do as they please, being accountable to nobody. Cal Trans has never held a lottery for their rental properties. They have always relied on the diligent work of their rental agents to research each application thus matching the applicant with the property.
At present, Cal Trans insiders say that with the change in recent staffing, the rental agents are all "tied to their desks" not being able to work with tenants. At first glance, one might think that a lottery would be a fare way to rent out the properties. Unfortunately, by reading Ms. DiMassa's article, one can see that this process is attracting applicants that want to use the homes to make money in the current market. There are currently at least 19 properties in Pasadena that are renovated and in "move in condition". With a lack of affordable housing in Pasadena, why did Cal Trans hold a lottery for only THREE properties? It is obvious that Cal Trans could not get prospective applicants to apply because of the strict Cal Trans guidelines. If they had used the Task Force's collaborative help to set up affordable guidelines, all of the renovated properties would be rented. This writer also learned that out of the three properties "raffled off" the cheapest property was on most applicants' list as a second choice. Cal Trans decided to allow these individuals to enter the lottery for the cheaper property also, thus raising their chances to get either their first or second choice. The two applicants, who could only qualify for the cheapest property: a local teacher and a family with a baby, were thrown into the mix with the other applicants. Neither the teacher nor the family beat the "Cal Trans" odds. Michelle White, executive director of Affordable Housing Services in Pasadena stated "Cal Trans has a responsibility to use these properties in a way that furthers the opportunities for low-income people." Unfortunately Cal Trans shunned that responsibility in 1981 when it decided to start charging fair market rents verses affordable rents on their properties.
I feel a little miffed learning that a Glendale Realtor is going to keep her home in Glendale while renting the Cal Trans property, but the local teacher, who invests in our community, is not going to be given the opportunity to further invest in our city. Without accountability, Cal Trans will continue to run a muck internally as well as with their properties.
Current Cal Trans Tenant (name withheld upon request)
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