Evictions, bulldozers and 18 new Sonoma homes

By Stephanie Hiller

An invalid eviction notice, 10 families hard put to find new homes in our pricey Valley, and a developer who says he’ll lose money on the 18-home project on Sonoma’s west side. As the last of the residents move out and the bulldozers get ready to roll in, what’s the story at 821 West Spain Street?

The owner and developer of the two-acre property is Steve Ledson. To get the long-planned project moving, the current residents were ordered to move out. But when attorney Ronit Rubinoff discovered an error in the eviction notice, it looked like a reprieve for the current tenants.

Rubinoff, executive director of Legal Aid in Santa Rosa, explained in a phone interview that, “the eviction notice was missing a piece of language informing tenants about their rights to obtain any abandoned property left behind.”

Since the notice did not include that language, it had to be re-written, giving the residents an extended chance to find another place. By April 22, when the notices were due to go out, all but three households had found new locations.

Legal Aid, which usually does not operate outside Santa Rosa, was invited into this case by an advocacy “Spiritual Action” committee formed by members of the Methodist Church. Mario Castillo, the Parent Engagement Coordinator in the Family Resource Center at El Verano School, is a member of that committee. He learned that two families were among those being evicted, and became concerned. The group has been distributing information to Valley families, as well as organizing forums to educate them.

The evictions process, widely used these days to enable landlords to remodel, raise rents, sell or, as in this case, demolish and rebuild, has been under scrutiny because people can be evicted without cause. Even if a tenant has paid rent regularly, done no damage, created no nuisance, and even made repairs for which he was not reimbursed, he can receive that 60-day notice.

Steve Ledson returned my phone call from a restaurant where he was having lunch. He sounded cheerful and engaging. Before I realized it, he was conducting the flow of the conversation. He made me feel that he was on my side and that it would be natural to infer that I was on his.

Born in 1952, Ledson is quick to talk about his family, which has lived in Sonoma Valley for five generations. His ancestor Barker came here from England in search of adventure and fortune, and found both. The Ledson line became ranchers and farmers and amassed a lot of land. Ledson himself owns some 6,000 acres in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

His career began with doing drywall for the many houses being built in the North Bay during the 70s. Eventually he went from construction to designing expensive homes with unique architectural features tailored to individual taste and bespeaking an earlier era when folks sipped wine in the afternoon on their wide verandahs. His love for the past has earned him a fortune. Among many projects, Ledson built the classy Ledson Hotel on the Plaza, and some 20 of 50 homes planned for Armstrong Estates, along East Napa Street in Sonoma. He and his family live in the original Armstrong home on the property, which Ledson refurbished and is now designated a historical landmark.

“I’ve been gifted with a successful, enjoyable life,” he says frequently, with evident satisfaction, all of it earned through hard work and an easygoing ability to charm customers – and newspaper reporters.

Asked why he, a man in his 60s worth several million dollars, would be bothered to take on a small housing development of relatively reasonably priced homes in town, such as the West Spain Street project, Ledson admitted that many people have asked him that.

He said its because he does not want to retire, which seems to him like taking a step toward the grave, and because he loves to be given a problem that others say is not easy to solve. “I have this passion and drive to create things. It’s not like work. It’s fun. I’m not doing it for the money.” He went on to talk about his Harmony Foundation and the many kids he’s helped to fulfill their dreams, especially kids with terminal illness. There he got a bit choked up “just thinking about those kids.”

With this project he said he is trying to help the city address its goal of building infill – tightly clustered smaller houses close to the center of town, to prevent sprawl and concentrate access to services. All 18 homes will be rentals; four, or the requisite 20 percent, will be “affordable,” renting for $2,100 a month, the rate set by the city.

“Construction costs are going up, up, up, up!” he said. “I’ll have to push the rents up on the others to cover the affordable ones.”

Yes, the price of real estate is a “serious issue,” he said, sounding indeed very sympathetic. He has 150 employees. Because of stringent requirements for getting a bank loan, most of them can’t qualify for a house unless he signs for them or even lends them money.

Of the 18-unit Nicora Place project, “I’m going to lose money while I build them. I’m extending a bunch of money.” His accountant had urged him to “bring the rents to market value,” he said.

Present residents were warned “two to three” years ago that this was coming, Ledson said. “We promised them a 60-day notice. That should be plenty of time for them to find a place. My sister lives there and several of my employees. They’ve all found places.”

But when we talked with them in late March, the Vargas family had not found a place. Manuel and Maria Vargas are raising their five grandchildren in a two-bedroom duplex with converted garage. Manuel does general maintenance on a ranch. He earns about $3,000 a month, according to Maria; she also receives some government assistance for the children, and that is how they are able to pay the $1,500 rent, the utilities and expenses. The oldest child is 15, Vanessa; she attends high school and wants to become a singer or a veterinarian. The youngest is eight.

At the property we sit at the kitchen table with Mario Castillo, who is translating. The room is dark and cool on this hot afternoon. Everything is very neat. Most everything works, they report, except for the bathroom sink. There has been no water in the sink for a year; the manager did not fix it. “We use the bathtub faucet,” says Vanessa.

Manuel and Maria are both applying for citizenship, Maria said.

Scott Eddinger was in the parking area when I arrived. He is Ledson’s Controller. He had come to check on the families. He understood that the Vargas family had found a place. But Maria told us that is a one bedroom apartment where their daughter lives, and she will move out so they can move in; but they are still looking for something bigger.

Eddinger said he was not informed about the previous Notice to Quit, which he said was not the same thing as an Eviction Notice, or whether the families would receive another 60 days. They were given until April 15, which has passed, and they are not paying rent, of which he seemed to disapprove. Two other families are still looking for places. He assured me that “we’re not going to bulldoze these houses while the families are still in them.”

A few days later, checking on a rumor that heavy equipment had been moved onto the site, suggesting demolition proceedings, we revisited the complex. Angel Sotelo, the former manager, assured me that no, they can’t tear down the houses until everyone has moved; no, Mr. Ledson would not do that. They were only hauling away garbage from the houses. All but three of the families have moved, he said, including the Vargas family.

“Ledson helped them get a place over in Verano,” he said. But a neighbor said no, it is Maria’s daughter’s one bedroom apartment. A phone call to Mrs. Vargas confirmed that the neighbor was right. Maria Vargas told Mario Castillo that she never received the second eviction notice. She was tired of being pressured, so she moved out over the weekend to her daughter’s.

Meanwhile, three families still living on the property now have almost two more months to find new places to live.