San Diego : Agency Explains Why Repairs to Building Ignored

A communications breakdown within the San Diego Housing Commission caused the agency to ignore repeated requests to repair unsafe and unhealthful conditions at a run-down Southeast San Diego apartment house that the Housing Commission obtained through foreclosure, Acting Executive Director Elizabeth Morris said Thursday.

The agency has halted all but emergency repairs since obtaining the eight-unit building at 3154 Imperial Ave. in dilapidated condition in August, subjecting tenants to unsafe and unsanitary conditions that included a roach infestation and broken smoke alarms.

Morris’ report to the Housing Commission was prompted by articles in The Times that said that the commission had ignored repeated requests from the city’s Housing Inspection Division to repair the numerous violations to the health and building codes.

According to Morris the breakdown was caused by the Housing Commission’s rehabilitation unit, which fielded telephone calls from city inspectors about the condition of the property.

“Apparently this section of the agency thought (Housing Inspection) was satisfied that the property would soon change ownership and did not communicate (Housing Inspection’s) concerns to the housing management section, which is responsible for management and maintenance of commission properties,” Morris wrote.

The Housing Commission has been fixing the violations since Tuesday and promised to remedy all of them by the end of this week if workers can gain access to apartments of the three remaining tenants, Morris wrote.

In a similar future case, Morris would assign responsibility for coordinating repairs to a single staff member, her report said.