Mobile Home Park Residents Live in Fear of Electrocution

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Kurtis Alexander
San Jose Mercury News

Snug Harbor Mobile Home Park, with its palm trees, tidy coaches and kids on bikes, doesn't look much different than other mobile home communities that many of the county's elderly and lower-income families call home.

But beneath the surface of the 30th Avenue park is a withering electrical grid that state inspectors say is threatening the safety of the several hundred who live there.

"There are a number of things here that could cause a fire, or a short, or people getting electrocuted," said Ron Javor, a deputy director with the California Department of Housing and Community Development. "We have fairly serious health and safety violations [here]."

Last month, the state took the unusual step of revoking the park owner's permit to operate, a move that follows two years of safety warnings that inspectors say have gone ignored and opens the door for legal action against the owner.

The registered owner is Bill Denhoy of Pleasanton, who owns at least a half-dozen parks statewide, including the nearby Blue and Gold Star Mobile Home Park on 38th Avenue. Denhoy could not be reached to comment.

News of the state's actions left residents, many of whom already face health or financial pressures, on edge this week. Residents have seen inspectors come and go over the past few years and know there are problems, but few realized the severity.

"I'm worried about the whole place burning down," said Judy Warnke, 60, who has lived at the park for 28 years. "You ever see a fire in a mobile home? They go really fast."

Across the street, Dale Hume said he is concerned about what will happen to him and his neighbors while the legal issues are sorted out.

"It's a very uncomfortable feeling," said Hume, who was left out of work after an on-the-job injury a year and a half ago. He lives at the park with his wife and 13-year-old son, and he doesn't want to have to worry about leaving.

Suspension of the park's permit doesn't appear to have immediate consequences for residents -- the action does make it illegal for the owner to charge them rent -- but some residents worry the owner could choose to sell, putting their futures in question.

State inspectors say the permit will be reinstated only if the owner makes significant upgrades. If he doesn't, the case will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for possible prosecution, Javor said, which could lead to charges of child endangerment and elder abuse, among others.

The permit suspension, effective Aug. 20, cites 23 violations. Most concern electrical shortfalls, like exposed wiring or a line handling more power than it should.

Residents, who complain of periodic "brown-outs," said the problems began after the previous owner began moving larger coaches into the park and increasing the park's electrical needs more than two years ago.

A manager at the park would not comment on the situation and referred media inquiries to another manager who did not return phone calls.

County housing officials rely on mobile home parks, which offer rent control, to help ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing in the region. County officials were yet to evaluate the status of the 120-unit Snug Harbor park.

The park, though the first in many years to have its permit revoked, is not the first to face problems. Several mobile home park owners have said rent controls have made it difficult for them to finance improvements on their properties. Some have sold their parks and moved on.

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