Temporary Order Blocks Sale of Homes to Social Agency

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the sale of 11 surplus Caltrans houses to an affordable-housing agency pending a court hearing next week, officials said.

The restraining order was obtained by attorney Mike Montgomery on behalf of a South Pasadena homeowners group that filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block the sale to Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services and its partner, Esperanza Charities.

The properties are among several dozen that once lay in the path of the Long Beach Freeway extension, but no longer need to be demolished because of changes in the route.

The suit names the state Department of Transportation, the housing services agency and Esperanza.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Thomas Stoever is expected to hold a hearing on a preliminary injunction in the case Thursday.

The suit alleges that Caltrans bundled the 10 South Pasadena houses and one Pasadena house together for sale and prevent small entities from purchasing them.

The South Pasadena Alliance for Responsible Housing filed a similar lawsuit Monday.