Dislodged resident files $2.4-million claim against Calabasas

Even as a longtime Calabasas resident who was kicked off his property by city officials filed a $2.4-million claim against the city, leaders of the upscale community west of the San Fernando Valley widened their crackdown on alleged building code violators.

Lloyd Smith, 70, who was left homeless in July after the city raided his pioneering family’s rural 60-acre ranch and shut off water and power, filed the claim Tuesday, naming the city, its mayor and city manager. A claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.

The next evening, the Calabasas City Council staged a special hearing in an effort to pass a tough new building code. Angry homeowners crowded into City Hall to protest.

In the meantime, officials took steps to force one 82-year-old homeowner to tear down supposedly unapproved portions of his house and gave an 86-year-old woman until Dec. 13 to deactivate her septic system and hook up to a sewer line.

Critics of the city’s crackdown described officials’ actions as “Orwellian” and “shameful.” Homeowners complained that the proposed beefed-up building code could force them to obtain city permits to change light bulbs or wallpaper a room if enforced as written.

“We have this huge erosion of trust that has occurred in this city,” asserted Mary Hubbard, who heads one of the community’s largest and oldest homeowners associations in the Malibu Canyon area. “We’re looking for checks and balances in power we feel has been abused.”

The crowd of about 50 residents occasionally groaned as officials defended the changes they’ve recommended for the building code. State requirements call for municipalities to update the codes every three years.

“It’s ludicrous that we’re sitting here rewriting it on Thanksgiving eve,” Jody Thomas, president of an Old Topanga Canyon homeowners group, told the council.

Councilwoman Mary Sue Maurer asked that the city set a “higher standard” for shutting off property owners’ water than it did in July, when drinking water was cut at Smith’s Stokes Canyon ranch and the property’s fire hydrant was capped off and locked.

“I’m looking for some comfort for residents who live in older homes,” Maurer said. “I see our [city] prosecutor’s hand in all of this — the sole intent is to prosecute citizens.... I don’t want all of a sudden for this city to become a police state where people are being thrown out of their homes because their toilets aren’t flushing properly.”

Mayor Barry Groveman defended the crackdown and the new ordinance. He told of “pirated” electrical service that “was actually smoldering in the ground” in one case. He declared that wastewater ending up in a stream constitutes an emergency.

Groveman suggested that some rural residents have enlarged their homes without proper permits in order to avoid paying taxes on new square footage.

At Maurer’s urging, officials agreed to hold a “public workshop” to discuss and debate the proposed code changes before a final version of the ordinance is voted on early next year. Until then, a temporary version of the code will be in effect after Jan. 1.

After the three-hour session adjourned, Groveman declined to comment on Smith’s claim other than to say it will be routinely processed by City Atty. Michael Colantuono. Along with the mayor, the claim names City Manager Tony Coroalles and building officials Maureen Tamuri and Sparky Cohen.

The $2.4-million claim will be referred to a collective self-insurance risk pool that Calabasas is a part of, Colantuono said. “My expectation is we’ll deny the claim. There are well-established immunities for local governments enforcing laws,” he said.

Calabasas’ enforcement officers, meanwhile, continue to pressure owners of older homes on the south edge of the 13-square-mile city.

Chet Allen, 83, said he was given until Nov. 30 to “redo or tear down” his home, which was built on Valdez Road in 1939 under Los Angeles County approval. He said he has been advised that officials might extend his deadline to Jan. 24.

“I’m going to have to take my chances in court,” Allen said Friday.

A short distance away, Black Bird Way homeowner Edna Campbell, 86, has been ordered to disconnect her working septic tank and hook up her house, built in 1937, to a sewer line.

“I can’t even imagine the cost of the project,” said her son, Reid Campbell “My mom is living on Social Security and shouldn’t have to be in a war with these bullies.”

bob.pool@latimes.com