Costa Mesa : Occupancy Problem Settled at Apartments

Tenants of a new Costa Mesa apartment building were allowed to move back in Thursday, more than a week after locks had been changed on their apartments to discourage them from continuing to live there illegally, without paying rent and without gas and electricity.

Utilities for the 144-unit complex at Merrimac Way and Harbor Boulevard were turned on this week after the city granted occupancy approval. The certification came after the building’s owner, Fairview Development Corp., provided additional water lines and fire hydrants, City Manager Allan Roeder said.

About 25 tenants had been living in unapproved apartments, some without electricity or heat, since Nov. 8 because the apartment manager, who has since been fired, failed to notify tenants that the move-in date on their lease was only tentative. He also issued apartment keys, which he was not supposed to do, according to Sharon Mills, project manager of Village Property Management, which manages the building. Mills said none of the tenants had been paying rent.

Roeder said the development company was in violation of an agreement made with the city almost two years ago, stipulating that tenants could not occupy the building until enough water connections were completed to meet fire safety rules.

According to representatives of Village Property Management, the tentative move-in date on the leases was pending certification by the city for occupancy. Mills said tenants were allowed to move their furniture in as a convenience, but could not live there.

Goldenwest Community College student Karla Knapp said the move-in date on her lease said Nov. 8, and she was not told that it was tentative, so she moved herself and her furniture from Northern California into Harbor Villas. As one of the tenants living without utilities, she said she studied by candlelight and took cold showers.