Santa Cruz woman forced to vacate illegal unit sues the city

Sept. 19--SANTA CRUZ -- A woman forced to vacate her home with her 10-year-old daughter after the converted garage was deemed illegal has filed a harassment lawsuit against the city of Santa Cruz.

Paula Gregoire, 50, seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the abatement of her 600-square-foot unit, which is located directly behind a single-family home owned by her San Jose-based parents in the 200 block of Cayuga Street. The family says the conversion took place before they bought the property in 1982.

In a suit filed Thursday in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Gregoire asks for permission to move back into the cottage she left in early September after it was red-tagged by the Planning Department.

City Attorney John Barisone said Friday the lawsuit was "a bit of a surprise" considering the Gregoires did not appeal a hearing officer's ruling to vacate, paid a fine associated with the order and pulled building permits to perform abatement work. Barisone will discuss the matter with the City Council in closed session Tuesday but said he does not believe the case has merit.

A Superior Court judge declined to issue an immediate injunction but set a hearing for 8:30 a.m.Oct. 9 in Dept. 5.

Several neighbors urged council members earlier this month to block abatement of the unit where Gregoire, a former PTA president at Gault Elementary School, lived for six years with daughter Isabella until a check conducted under the city's three-year-old rental inspection ordinance determined the structure to be unpermitted and unsafe.

Although the Gregoires installed a window in the girl's bedroom, removed a stove and added a heater at the suggestion of Councilmember Micah Posner, planning officials said that work, too, was unpermitted and the building must be converted back into a garage. Posner said he had hoped the city would make an exception and is working to overturn the rental inspection program.

Meanwhile, Gregoire and her supporters called on the city's Planning Commission in early September to address the case in its approval of changes to rules governing in-law units.

Although the commission recommended the council reduce the minimum lot size for containing accessory dwellings, the Cayuga Street property still is too small. However, commissioners urged the council to reconsider a requirement that property owners occupy either the main residence or in-law unit -- a problem also bedeviling the Gregoires -- and to stop abatement of units unless there is a clear health hazard.

"I'm doing this legal action as insurance in case the council doesn't vote on a moratorium," Gregoire said Friday.

The council has scheduled a special study session Oct. 7 to discuss accessory dwelling units.

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