Pasadena Structure Declared Hazardous

About four dozen residents of a mice- and roach-infested apartment building in northwest Pasadena were ordered evacuated Friday after city officials declared the three-story structure a public nuisance and safety hazard.

The residents, mainly Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador, will spend the weekend at Jackie Robinson Center in Pasadena, where the American Red Cross plans to set up cots and provide food.

“We’ll feed them and keep them warm until permanent housing can be located,” said Pasadena Fire Chief Kaya Pekerol.

Pekerol said the city Fire Department, Red Cross, Salvation Army, El Centro de Accion Social and Foothill Area Community Services are trying to find permanent housing for the families by Monday, Christmas Eve. The city is using $17,000 from an emergency fund to finance the relocation.

Over the last two years, the city has cited the building at 543 N. Raymond Ave. for numerous health, fire and building code violations, said Deputy City Atty. Carolyn Williams.

The building lacked fire alarms and sufficient fire exits. Some parts of the building were without heat, Williams said, prompting tenants to use hibachi grills for warmth--a potentially deadly practice because of the carbon monoxide fumes emitted by charcoal.

Pekerol said these conditions, combined with the recent cold weather, prompted the city on Tuesday to order the building vacated.

The building’s owner, David O. Howard, who owns 22 other buildings in Pasadena--some of which are also under city scrutiny--has been ordered to repair the dilapidated structure, Williams said. Howard also will be compelled to help pay relocation costs. If he fails to comply, Howard could be prosecuted under the state housing law, Williams said.

Howard could not be reached for comment.

Although ordered evacuated for their own safety, some residents seemed reluctant to leave.

“I’m used to this,” said Rene Lovo, 37, a native of El Salvador, pointing to the foot-high wooden barrier he had placed across his doorway to keep rats from his apartment. Three extension cords were plugged into one outlet and strung across the room.

Lovo said he shared a two-room apartment and a communal bathroom down the hall for four years with his wife and brother-in-law. A day laborer, he said he finds work by standing on a nearby street corner.

“I don’t know where they’re going to send me,” Lovo said. “If I go away from here, I don’t have any transportation.”