MOORPARK : City Weighs Limits on Crowded Houses

Following in the footsteps of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark city officials will consider establishing a law against crowding in rental units.

At a joint meeting of the Moorpark City Council and the Planning Commission, City Manager Steven M. Kueny and Mayor Paul W. Lawrason Jr. suggested that commissioners draft an ordinance similar to the one passed recently in Thousand Oaks.

The Thousand Oaks ordinance, which will not be enforced for at least six months, requires landlords to get special permits when renting houses to four or more adults.

However in Moorpark, when residents complain to officials about crowding, they are often referring to people living in sheds, garages and other illegal, substandard housing, usually in the city’s older, downtown area, officials said.

“People are talking to me about it all the time,” Lawrason said.

The city receives between two and 20 reports each week about people living in garages, Code Enforcement Officer Mario Riley said.

The garages often rent for $400 to $500, said Ruben Castro, director of a local food pantry.

Councilman Bernardo M. Perez said that the shortage of affordable housing in Moorpark is the root of the problem, and that an ordinance would not address the reasons why people crowd into single-family houses or live in substandard housing.

“People don’t choose to live in intolerable conditions,” Perez said. “It’s because they have no other recourse.”