Even though Santa Clarita officials said it wasn’t technically a city issue, a resident complaining of mold in her apartment shared gratitude Thursday for the city’s help, after seeing additional pressure from City Hall to push L.A. County for more inspections.
Libby Fortman, who lived in Park Sierra apartments on Jakes Way in Canyon Country, said she is filing for a constructive eviction, and had to move out of her apartment, after learning there were significant mold issues.
The substance is known to cause health problems, including asthma, respiratory infections and skin issues, according to the state Health Department.
Fortman attended the Feb. 10 Santa Clarita City Council meeting and laid out her concerns to the council and City Manager Ken Striplin, saying she had trouble getting a response from the county agencies responsible.
She’s been researching her concerns for months, she said over a pair of phone conversations, starting a social media page that resulted in many other residents sending her pictures of the same kinds of problems she’s seeing.
Fortman said her initial shock was over the city not having a housing authority, which she said would be the best means for her to redress her problems. She said living in a city where about 30% of its residents could be helped by such an agency made it all the more surprising.
Striplin said a housing authority was the proper agency to take up her concerns, and the city would help her with that — but he also said that only 11 of the county’s 88 cities have their own housing authority, and the county is available to help on housing issues.
He said such housing authorities are traditionally purpose-built to maintain public housing, which the city doesn’t have.
Fortman said Thursday she experienced significant delays when dealing with the county, which ultimately led her and her asthmatic family members to expedite their move.
A representative for the L.A. County Department of Public Health said the agency was working on a response as of the publication of this story.
L.A. County officials, including Public Health, have been involved in the situation.
Fortman also shared correspondence she’s had with Public Health, a county agency that reported Fortman had refused a mold inspection paid for by her apartment management company, GHP Property Management.
“The department has received an allegation that you denied access to your unit on (Jan. 30) and (Feb. 6) after receiving written notice from the landlord/property manager at least 24 hours in advance,” which was in accordance with state law.
In her email reply, she said the first inspector missed their appointment by an hour, and the second person refused to complete the inspection because her husband insisted on filming it.
The county urged her to comply with the inspection by Wednesday.
But Fortman was not the only resident dealing with mold.
Fortman also shared a Feb. 5 email from GHP that appeared to be a mass email apologizing for the inconvenience to residents while the work is being completed.
“We would like to share an update regarding repairs following the heavy rains experienced earlier this season,” according to the email. “During that time, we experienced an unprecedented volume of leaks due to the severity of the weather. Since then, our maintenance and vendor teams have been steadily working through inspections and repairs as conditions allow. Some repairs are limited to specific time windows, as affected areas must be completely dry to ensure permanent and effective repairs can be completed.”
GHP Property Management did not respond to a request for comment Thursday on this story.
A resident of The Terrace apartments also complained of mold to the council at Tuesday’s meeting. The Terrace is a Newhall apartment complex also owned by GHP, which lost a multimillion-dollar judgment in the early 1990s over copyright infringement for using the name “Valencia,” which Valencia developer The Newhall Land & Farming Co. had trademarked for real estate.
And on Feb. 18, Santa Clarita City Council members wrote to the county for its to help step in:
“Over the past several months, the city has received several complaints of mold, termites and other unsafe living conditions from residents living in these communities. City staff has referred residents to County Public Health and has followed up with representatives in an effort to expedite inspections. As the conditions described pose significant risk to public health and wellbeing, it is critical that inspections are immediately conducted and that these residential communities are brought into compliance with health and safety standards,” read the letter co-signed by all five council members.
The Feb. 18 letter requested L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger to urge Public Health to “conduct immediate inspections” at the Park Sierra, Terrace Apartments, which are off Valle Del Oro, and Colony Townhomes, which is also near Jakes Way in Canyon Country.
Then two days later, Fortman received another letter from Striplin.
“First, I want to express my sincere sympathy about the conditions you and your family have experienced. The city takes great pride in the quality of life of our residents and ensuring that people have safe places to live is a priority,” he wrote Feb. 20.
“At the Feb. 10, City Council meeting, I had the opportunity to speak on this issue,” he said in the letter. “For matters related to mold, indoor air quality, and habitability inside rental units, the agency with responsibility to investigate and require corrective action is the Los Angeles County (County) Department of Public Health. With that being said, city staff has been in direct communication with the county to share the residents’ concerns and urge prompt action.”
Fortman said she also had a 3 p.m. Tuesday meeting with Striplin and Mayor Pro Tem Patsy Ayala right before the council meeting, and she said she had to say thank you for everything.
“They were wonderful. I really enjoyed speaking to (Ayala),” Fortman said. “She clearly resonated with what I said, and so I really appreciated that at the meeting, and at the City Council meeting two weeks ago, she spoke up, and so did the mayor (Laurene Weste), and they wanted to find out what was going on. I believe them that they didn’t know that this was going on.”
She also said it was hard to imagine no one knew hundreds of residents could be living with similar concerns but was very happy to hear the city was putting more pressure on the situation.
Barger issued a statement Thursday declaring solidarity with the impacted Canyon Country and Newhall residents.
“I stand with the residents of Park Sierra Apartments, Colony Townhomes and Terrace Apartments who deserve safe and healthy living conditions,” she wrote in an email sent by Helen Chavez Garcia, her director of communications. “I have asked the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to prioritize a thorough and timely investigation and review of these properties to address the serious habitability concerns that have been raised.”
Fortman shared several pieces of correspondence Wednesday with The Signal, including letters with the Department of Public Health and from the city of Santa Clarita.
While Striplin identified the mold issue as a public health concern, his letter said building inspectors would be checking out Fortman’s allegations that there was wood rot in her building, which Fortman said was related to the mold, and could impact building integrity.
“In regard to your concern about building safety and structural collapse,” Striplin’s letter to Fortman continued, “I have copied the city building official, John Caprarelli, and he will contact you directly to discuss your concerns.”
