Legal Entanglements Between East Palo Alto, Page Mill Worsen

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jessica Berstein-Wax
San Jose Mercury News

East Palo Alto's biggest landlord has filed another lawsuit against the city, adding to the ongoing legal entanglement between the two over rent hikes.

In the suit filed Jan. 6 in San Mateo County Superior Court, Woodland Park Management LLC, Page Mill Properties' management company, alleges that East Palo Alto officials refused to hand over public documents related to a peer review of the city's rent control system.

The city of Berkeley, whose own rent control ordinance was the model for East Palo Alto's, completed the review last year.

The lawsuit names as defendants East Palo Alto and its rent stabilization board.

"Defendants have refused to perform their legal duty to provide plaintiff with access to or copies of certain of the aforementioned records in accordance with the California Public Records Act," the filing claims. "Plaintiff has, on numerous occasions, requested in writing access to the aforementioned public records."

Documents attached to the suit indicate that Page Mill's attorney in the case, Tony Tanke, first requested the documents in a Nov. 4 letter. On Dec. 5, East Palo Alto Housing Services Director Wilbert Lee wrote Tanke that he had assembled "the documents I believe are responsive to your request," with the exception of certain items he said fell outside the law's jurisdiction.

In that letter, Lee asked Tanke for his e-mail address so he could send the documents electronically.

Attorney Valerie Armento described the suit as "a waste of paper."

"The lawsuit is not well-founded at all but a perfect example of the ongoing harassment of Woodland and Page Mill Properties against the city," Armento said.

Armento gave the Daily News additional correspondence between Lee and Tanke not included in the suit.

In a Dec. 23 letter that Armento provided, Tanke asks Lee to mail all records related to the Berkeley peer review and says he will sue if the city doesn't provide them. Six days later, Lee indicated he would mail "the materials we believe are responsive to your request, as further refined in your most recent letter." He said staff couldn't begin compiling the items until after Jan. 5 because of the holidays.

Tanke filed a suit on Jan. 6. He didn't return phone messages left at his office Monday or Tuesday, although Page Mill employees also tried to contact him on behalf of the Daily News.

In November, East Palo Alto dropped a request for a permanent injunction against Page Mill's rent increases, which affect about 1,000 units in the city of 32,000. A judge already had denied the city's requests for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.

Page Mill called the move a victory, but the city said it abandoned the suit because it couldn't afford ongoing litigation on a matter that was proving difficult to win. In addition, most people affected by the rent increases in that suit had already moved, Armento said at the time.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Help build power for renters' rights: