City Removes Renters From Illegally Converted Garage

Watsonville city officials relocated three people living in an illegally converted garage off East Lake Avenue earlier this month, the latest episode in the ongoing debacle about access to affordable housing and how to manage the city's densely populated neighborhoods.

Assistant City Manager Marcela Tavantzis notified several Watsonville City Council members via email that two "households" were vacated from what she described as "dangerous garage conversions" near Willow Way and Eaton Avenue.

Councilman Lowell Hurst shared the email with Patch. He said he hopes more members of the public report housing violations so city Code Enforcement can act.

"These dangerous conversions and opportunistic landlords put the safety of families and the livability of our neighborhoods at risk," Hurst said.

Watsonville is one of the most densely populated cities in the state. brought the issue into focus. The fire displaced 17 people, a dozen of whom were living in a house slightly larger than 600 square feet.

At the time, Watsonville Fire Chief Mark Bisbee explained that while the 12 residents were sharing a small space, it didn't violate state housing standards. Those rules, which are not set at the local level, require 50 square feet per person in a house.

However, converting garages and storage sheds into sleeping space—a practice that's not uncommon in Watsonville—is illegal.

"I think it does illustrate a much larger problem of the exploitation of too many low wage workers who have too few options to get ahead or survive in a stressed economic environment," Hurst said. "... Safe, adequate, and affordable housing remains a big issue in this community."

The illegally rented garage on Willow Way and Eaton Avenue that city officials removed tenants from this month had been divided into two living spaces. A couple shared one half of the garage and paid $550 a month rent. A single man rented the other half for $400 a month. Both households paid their rent to the main tenant of the house, according to Tavantzis.

City officials removed people from one other converted garage rental this year, Tavantzis said. In the other case a garage and shed housed two households, which is one or more persons sharing a living space.

Residents renting the illegal dwelling units contacted city code enforcement in both cases, Tavantzis said. She declined to share further information about the cases because they remain open.

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