Chilpancingo Vista - Maintenance due at housing for disabled

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http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/3929266.htm

Sat, Aug. 24, 2002

Maintenance due at housing for disabled

Residents say 25-unit Chilpancingo Vista has slipped into disrepair

By Corey Lyons

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

PLEASANT HILL - Disabled tenants at a federally subsidized apartment complex

say a history of shoddy management has steered their once promising property

into a cul-de-sac of blight.

Lela Sullivan, 70, had to put her bedroom furniture on blocks because of

severe patio flooding that sent water gushing across the floor.

A rain gutter project remains unfinished. Rear yards bristle with tall

weeds. Part of a roof is weighed down by moss and tiny stones. Fences

crumble from dry rot. Fuzzy strips of mold cling to some bathroom ceilings.

Once hailed as the nation's first complex built specifically for wheelchair

users, the 25-unit Chilpancingo Vista has slipped into disrepair. And

residents, once too afraid to speak their minds, have banded together to

voice their concerns about the 20-year old complex.

" We're tired of complaining. We just want things fixed, " said Dawn Bradley,

a resident since 1992 who has cerebral palsy.

The property manager, Barcelon Associates Management Corp., in Lafayette,

recently finished an annual inspection and is working on a plan to spruce up

the place. " There are issues, just like at any place. But this all just

came to head at one time, " said Dorothy Maynard, an asset manager for

Barcelon.

But residents say their complaints over the years have often been swept

aside with promises of " We'll get back to you, " even as work orders piled

up.

" When you have low-income housing, residents are often afraid to complain

because there's no where else to go, " said Joanne Bell, executive director

of Independent Living Resource in Concord.

" There's a two-to-six-year waiting period, " she added, " for accessible,

affordable, low-income housing in Contra Costa County. "

The hillside complex, located along a stretch of Chilpancingo Parkway, is a

cluster of one- and two-bedroom units for people with impaired mobility.

Renters range from victims of serious accidents to those with cerebral

palsy, polio and severe strokes.

The units were designed to cater to their unique needs, including lower

cabinets and doorknobs, even wheel-in showers and outdoor curb ramps.

A large portion of the tenants' monthly rent is covered by the federal

Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 program.

Sullivan, a paraplegic from a car crash years ago, has lived in the same

Chilpancingo Vista unit since it opened.

She pays 30 percent of her $1,400-a-month rent, but often wonders " where the

rest of the money goes. "

Because of Chilpancingo's poor maintenance history, she said, she often

calls on her four sons to help repair her apartment.

In addition to the flooding problems that affect about eight units, Sullivan

said the badly cracked street outside " jars your teeth loose " when rolling

by in a wheelchair.

In February, a Pleasant Hill code enforcement officer responding to a

complaint by Sullivan wrote that he could declare the complex " substandard,

dangerous and uninhabitable. "

The residents outlined all of their concerns to Barcelon and HUD in a recent

report, which included glossy photos of dry rot, mold and moss-covered

rooftops.

In it, they described the tenant-management relationship as " dysfunctional "

and accused Barcelon of not presenting an accurate picture when

communicating with HUD.

All major work projects must first be cleared by HUD.

Maynard, the Barcelon asset manager, acknowledged past communication

breakdowns.

" It's been a matter of people thinking things were taken care of when they

weren't, " she said. " Things fell through the crack. "

While Barcelon manages the complex, Chilpancingo Vista Inc., a nonprofit

group, owns the site and addresses concerns with its board of directors.

The board, Barcelon and HUD are all working on a plan to patch up the

immediate problems, which include flooding and deteriorating bathrooms.

Workers have already started replacing broken tiles and repairing dry rot in

the seven bathrooms, a project that will cost about $50,000.

" This place was in great shape until a few years ago, " said Distefano,

president of the board of directors. " We were as distressed as (residents)

were to find out what happened to this place. "

Reach Corey Lyons at 925-977-8418 or clyons@....