Santa Ana : Cockroaches Stir Action on Housing Inspections

After looking at a box of live cockroaches and a drawer with rat droppings from slum apartments, the City Council this week directed housing officials to meet with tenants to draw up an inspection schedule for several apartment buildings.

The insects and droppings were brought to this week’s council meeting by tenants led by Nativo Lopez, organizer of a rent strike. The more than 300 tenants who packed the council chambers applauded when the directive to inspect the Minnie Street and Standard Avenue apartments was given.

On Tuesday, George Gragg, the city’s community preservation officer, said inspectors would visit the worst apartments in “the next three or four days.”

“It’s an area that needs attention--there’s no doubt about that,” he said. Gragg estimated that between 60 and 100 apartments are involved. “We have to set priorities to make sure the worst cases receive our attention first,” he said.

City Manager Robert C. Bobb said the city is committed to cleaning up rundown neighborhoods but that it is unrealistic to expect inspectors’ visits to bring about changed conditions overnight. Like Gragg, he said it is necessary to set priorities.