Audit Faults Caltrans on House Restorations

Caltrans has rehabilitated only 39 of the 92 historic homes it owns along the proposed Long Beach Freeway extension and has nearly exhausted the $19.4 million it received for fixing all of them, according to a state audit released Thursday.

State Auditor Elaine M. Howle, in a letter to the governor and state lawmakers summarizing the audit, said the transportation agency “cannot demonstrate it used the cost-effective methods when performing work.” Auditors said Caltrans has spent, on average, $400,000 repairing each house.

Auditors also wrote that Caltrans officials had said that the $19.4 million would be enough, although they had estimates showing that the cost of repairing all 92 buildings might be double that.

The homes, officially deemed historic or architecturally significant, are among more than 585 structures acquired by Caltrans since the 1950s along the proposed freeway route through Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno. Protracted legal and political battles have stalled construction of the controversial freeway extension.

In 1995, the agency was forced to begin rehabilitating those 92 homes after a public outcry over the agency’s allowing the Victorian, Craftsman and Spanish revival structures to fall into disrepair. The goal was to make them all habitable at least until the fate of the freeway was decided.

Auditors said Caltrans spent $7.7 million to rehabilitate 17 properties that were expected to be cut apart and relocated if the freeway is completed. But the agency, auditors noted, never considered the damage such moves would do to the detailed interior work it paid for.

State auditors have recommended a series of changes in the way Caltrans continues to maintain the houses. Among those are the need for better cost estimates and a focus on restoring the most important historic features.

“Caltrans recognizes it could have done better oversight of the project, and we will implement the Bureau of State Audits suggestions,” said Margaret Tiritelli, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

The audit was requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee earlier this year after then-state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena) questioned the use of the money.

His request came after Caltrans, citing a lack of funds, said in July that it planned to shutter the historic structures that still needed rehabilitation. Caltrans said it needs $22 million to complete the project, but has been unable to secure funds.

The freeway extension, a $1.4-billion project, is not expected to begin for a decade--if it survives legal and legislative challenges.

“The audit is a start, but it did not go far enough. They should push for a grand jury investigation,” Chris Sutton, an attorney for renters of the historic houses, said Thursday. Among the problems auditors found with the house-repair program:

* Rather than coming up with a limited budget for the most important repairs at each house, Caltrans finished work at one house and moved on to the next until the kitty ran dry.

* Its contractor, the Department of General Services, in some cases failed to comply with building codes.

* Although federal historic preservation requirements allow the agency to focus on exteriors and especially significant interiors, Caltrans built kitchen cabinets and installed bathroom sinks.

* The agency repaired 54 wooden windows at one property at a cost of $28,000 without considering less costly replacements.