Seeing the Forest for the Trees?

It was a bit disheartening to see a tree limb fall into the public storm drain and creek that we tenants had just cleaned up.

We suspect that it was the rain that caused the tree to fall. . .

But, after a call to Public Works today, we were informed that a tree down is considered an emergency.  During Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., you call can Public Works to report "TREE DOWN!" but after hours and on weekends, call the local Fire Station for assistance.

Call Public Works at: (510) 665-5566.  The pine tree above has been reported and the Service Number is: 483072.

LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOU DID GREAT!

The City of Oakland Public Works Agency thanks all the volunteers for helped make Oakland's 18th annual Creek to Bay Day a success! Creek to Bay Day is part of California and International Coastal Cleanup Day, which engages thousands of volunteers in trash removal and beautification of waterways and shorelines across California, the nation, and in about 100 participating countries. Volunteers in Oakland joined these efforts by acting locally to clean trash from and beautify Lake Merritt, the Oakland Estuary and 33 creek locations on Saturday, September 21.

More than 1,000 volunteers removed trash and invasive weeds, and planted and restored wild habitat along Oakland's creeks and bay shoreline. Volunteers in kayaks participated for the first time this year removing trash from San Francisco Bay, preventing this trash from going out to sea. While results are still coming in, volunteers in Oakland collected over 15,000 pounds of trash and 150 cubic yards of compostable green waste. Creek to Bay Day is held in conjunction with International Coastal Cleanup Day and is sponsored by the California Coastal Commission. By current count, the statewide event turned out 51,543 volunteers who removed 471,218 pounds of trash and 30,530 pounds of recyclables!

Unusual early-season rains did not damper the spirit of the volunteers in Oakland, many of whom had prepared to get their feet wet. The rains were an auspicious sign and a helpful boost of water to newly-planted native species. The rains also helped highlight the importance of clean watersheds and waterways: as stormwater collects in street drains, it flows into the creeks and/or directly into the Bay, carrying trash and debris in its path. Keeping trash out of our streets and creeks keep our waterways flowing and clean, preventing flooding, pollution, and trash from harming wildlife, blighting our beaches, and impairing our access to clean and safe water. 

Many deserve special recognition for helping to make Creek to Bay Day 2013 our most successful to date. Creek to Bay Day would not be possible without the dedication of community site coordinators and supporting organization who helped coordinate projects at 36 locations, the highest number of Creek to Bay Day sites in the history of the event. The support from Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, the East Bay Regional Park District, the Port of Oakland, and Waste Management year after year is also integral to the success of the event. 

Oakland hosts opportunities throughout the year for citizens and community groups to care for our creeks and waterways. Visit our Adopt a Spot website at www.oaklandadoptaspot.org, email adoptaspot@oaklandnet.com, or call (510) 238-7630 for more information on how you can help! You can also stay connected and up to date by following the Sustainable Oakland Facebook page. 

Article source:  http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/o/FE/s/ID/OAK024743

Transforming Our Creeks

Thanks be to 

Sara, Matt, Amber, Nathan, Mac, Nicole, and Rocky 


for their hard work and dedication in transforming the clogged up creek behind 142 Caldecott Lane to a place where water can now flow freely, unencumbered by tree trimmings, landscape cuttings, and soggy mattresses.

We will begin work on Sunday morning (9/22) to move 30 yard bags behind 130 Caldecott Lane to the median strip across the street and to move more illegally dumped material from behind 142 Caldecott Lane curb-side.

City of Oakland Public Works will pick up the green and other waste as part of our participation in the City of Oakland's Adopt-a-Spot program.

Who knew that the public land behind 142 Caldecott Lane is so breathtakingly beautiful? 

FREE WORK-OUT ON CALDECOTT LANE!

and FREE water, too!

Work up a sweat and join us while we clear the creeks behind 142 Caldecott Lane of tree trimmings, landscape cuttings, and yard waste.

It's great exercise ... 

It's hard work...

It's a team effort of fellow residents on Caldecott Lane joining together to create positive change in our environment.

YOU will be part of a national clean-up team organized to clear our creeks of litter and waste, coast to coast.

See other sites across Oakland who will also be participating in CREEK-TO-BAY Day.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/o/FE/s/ID/OAK024743

And, check out the FACEBOOK Page!  Each volunteer walks-away with a goodie bag to thank you for your help!

JOIN US AT 9:00 AM BEHIND 142 CALDECOTT LANE.

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!

Saturday, September 21, 2013 – CREEK TO BAY DAY

Please join us on Saturday, September 21, 2013 – CREEK TO BAY DAY – to help clean up:

·       Creeks behind 142 Caldecott Lane

·       from Landscape Cuttings, Litter, and Tree Trimmings

Adopt-a-Spot has provided us with tools, gloves, garbage and recycling bags, pitchforks, and a dumpster for the debris which the City will haul away.

The dumpster will be located on the median strip across from 142 Caldecott Lane.  It will be delivered on Friday, September 20, 2013 and picked up on Monday, September 23, 2013.

Brown bags will be used to collect vegetation. Please don’t fill these bags to the top -- the bags will be too heavy to lift.  Sort out rocks, litter, and dirt and leave these items behind. 

Clear bags will be used for garbage only.

We will separately collect recyclables and provide them to a recycling center.

CLEAN-UP BEGINS AT 9:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 21, 2013.

Location:  Behind 142 Caldecott Lane

Sign-up Sheets:  You will need to sign the Adopt-a-Spot sign-up sheet and read the waiver before volunteering. Parents will need to read and sign a waiver pertaining to children.

We will furnish: Water, Gatorade, Snacks.  Tools.  Hand-Wipes.

What to Wear:  OLD clothes and layers.  Bring Technu for poison oak.

If you are allergic to Poison Oak, remember “Leaves of Three, Let Them Be.”

First Aid Kits will be available.

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!

Your Landlord Can’t Harass You

The following is an excerpt from the San Francisco Tenant's Union website.  While the rent control ordinance in San Francisco is not applicable to tenants residing in Oakland, state law certainly is.  It seems that the advice below is worth repeating.

Your landlord—or anyone acting for your landlord—can’t harass you out of your home. Landlords cannot lock you out, shut off your utilities, forcibly enter your home without notice, remove your belongings, or harass you into leaving your home.

Landlords have found that harassing tenants is an effective way to force tenants to leave so the units can then be re-rented at higher rents or converted to condominiums. In 2008, San Francisco voters passed Prop M, which defines and prohibits harassment and gives tenants remedies ranging from getting a rent decrease at the Rent Board to treble damages. Prop M also helps tenants fight off unfounded eviction actions by giving tenants attorneys fees whenever the tenant prevails in court in an eviction action. Click here for text of Prop M and a summary.

Harassment 

Your landlord or landlord’s agent can’t verbally or physically threaten or harass you. Just because he is the landlord, doesn't mean he’s above the law.

What You Can Do 

1. Keep a log of every incident of harassment. You may need this later if you go to court. 

2. Write a letter to the landlord demanding that the harassment be stopped. Keep a copy of the letter. 

3. Do not be afraid to call the police if you feel threatened. 

4. You have the right to file for a Restraining Order in Superior Court restricting when your landlord may contact you. Forms are available at the Superior Court Clerk at the Superior Courthouse, corner of Polk and McAllister Streets.. You can probably do this without an attorney; if you need help, talk to a tenants Union counselor. 

5. If the harassment doesn't’t stop and gets worse, you can:

--File for a decrease in your rent at the Rent Board

--Talk to an attorney about suing your landlord. Tenants who are threatened with harm or force by their landlords can now sue for triple any actual damages under Prop M (Section 37.10B of Chapter 37 in San Francisco Administrative Code and/or $5,000 statutory damages for each such threat under California Civil Code 1940.2.

Landlord Entry 

Under California Civil Code Section 1954, a landlord or landlord’s agent can enter your home without your consent only by giving you 24 hours written notice and only in the following situations: 

•To make necessary or agreed-upon repairs 

•To show it to prospective tenants, buyers, mortgage holders, repair persons, or contractors. 

•When the tenant has moved. 

•When there is a court order authorizing entry by the landlord.

(Click here for article on landlord entry by tenant attorney Wally Oman)

What You Can Do: 

1. Write a letter demanding these illegal entries be stopped. Demand 24 hours written notice for future entries. You can also demand that these visits be made only during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 9-5. 

2. Keep a list of all known entries. Talk to your neighbors. You can serve as witnesses for each other. 

3. Change your locks. There is no law that states a landlord must have a key to your home. You must allow entry for proper reasons (above) if you are provided 24 hours notice. If your rental agreement has a clause forbidding alterations to the premises, call the Tenants Union before you take this step.

Abuse of entry rights is prohibited by Prop M, SF Administrative Code Chapter 37, Section 10B, and tenants can get a rent decrease for abuse of entry by the landlord (or realtor).

Utility Shut-Offs 

Your landlord—or anyone acting for your landlord—may not shut off any of your utilities for purpose of evicting or harassing you. Utilities include: water, heat, gas, electricity, elevator service and telephone.

What You Can Do: 

1. Keep a list of all incidents, the dates, and the length of time that your service was turned off. 

2. Inform your landlord in writing that you know your rights, the utility cutoff is illegal and that you want the situation remedied immediately. Keep a copy. 

3. Call the utility company and try to get the service turned back on. 

4. Under California Civil Code Section 789.3, you can sue the landlord for up to $100 per day, but not less than $250, plus actual damages and attorneys fees. You can hire a lawyer to bring suit or file suit in Small Claims Court. 

5. File with the San Francisco Rent Board (25 Van Ness Ave) for a reduction in rent because your services have been reduced.

Lockouts 

Your landlord—or anyone acting for your landlord—can’t lock you out, change your locks, plug the hole in your lock, remove any part of your door or windows, remove your property, or in any fashion try to block your entry to your home.

What You Can Do: 

1. Keep a record of all such incidents. 

2. You have a right to regain entry to the premises even if you have to break in. 

3. Call the police. The landlord is guilty of violating Penal Code 418 and is liable for arrest. 

4. Write a letter to your landlord stating that you are aware of your rights as a tenant, that s/he is in clear violation of the law, and that you want the situation remedied with no further harassment. Keep a copy of the letter; it will be good evidence if you have to take the landlord to court later. 

5. Under California Civil Code Section 789.3, you can sue the landlord for up to $100 per day, but not less than $250, for damages, plus attorneys fees. You can hire a lawyer to bring suit or file suit in Small Claims Court. 

6. You can ask the court to keep the landlord from locking you out again.

The Eviction Process 

There are five main steps before you can be evicted: 

1. You must receive a three ("fault" evictions) or sixty day ("no fault") notice. 

2. You must receive a copy of the eviction lawsuit (called Unlawful Detainer); Note that you only have FIVE DAYS to respond. 

3. You and your landlord go to court and tell you story to a judge or jury. 

4. There must be a court judgment against you. 

5. The sheriff must come to evict you if the court rules against you; only the sheriff can have you physically removed, even if the court ruled against you.

What You Can Do: 

Upon receiving a three or thirty day notice, you may be able to negotiate with the landlord to correct the problem. This notice does not mean you have to move out in three (or sixty) days, it merely means the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit after the three (or sixty) days expires. If the landlord agrees to negotiate, get any arrangements you make in writing. If the landlord is unable to put them in writing, you can write a letter confirming your oral agreement. Make sure to keep copies of all agreements and letters. 

If your landlord is unwilling to negotiate and serves you with an eviction lawsuit, you will need some help. Call the San Francisco Tenants Union (282-6622) or, if you have received a Summons & Complaint, bring it and all your paperwork to the Eviction Defense Collaborative at 995 Market St., Suite 1200 (at 6th St).

Self-Help Evictions

The following is an article published on Stan Burman's blog "California Paralegal" which I received this morning concerning self-help evictions. 

*****

Self-help evictions in California are the topic of this blog post which discusses what actions are prohibited for landlords in California. 

California Civil Code section 789.3 is the statute that states in detail what a California landlord may not do. Sections 789.3 also allows a California residential tenant to be awarded their actual damages, statutory damages of $100.00 per day or part of a day that the landlord is in violation of that code section. Note that section 789.3 does not apply to commercial tenants.

The benefit of this law to California tenants is that their landlord cannot perform a “self-help” eviction without going through the legal process. For example they cannot lock a tenant out, remove their property, remove doors or windows, or turn off utilities to force a tenant to move out. A careful reading of section 789.3 is essential as there are many actions that are considered violations.

Repeated violations may be considered as separate causes of action with a separate award of statutory damages in certain circumstances. The prevailing party in any action under this section shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees. And the tenant can seek injunctive relief to prevent any continuing or further violations of section 789.3. That section also provides that the remedies provided are not exclusive and do not prevent a tenant from pursuing any other remedy to which they may be legally entitled.

Civil Code section 789.3 states that,

“(a) A landlord shall not with intent to terminate the occupancy under any lease or other tenancy or estate at will, however created, of property used by a tenant as his residence willfully cause, directly or indirectly, the interruption or termination of any utility service furnished the tenant, including, but not limited to, water, heat, light, electricity, gas, telephone, elevator, or refrigeration, whether or not the utility service is under the control of the landlord.

(b) In addition, a landlord shall not, with intent to terminate the occupancy under any lease or other tenancy or estate at will, however created, of property used by a tenant as his or her residence, willfully:

(1) Prevent the tenant from gaining reasonable access to the property by changing the locks or using a bootlock or by any other similar method or device;

(2) Remove outside doors or windows; or

(3) Remove from the premises the tenant’s personal property, the furnishings, or any other items without the prior written consent of the tenant, except when done pursuant to the procedure set forth in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1980) of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3.

Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent the lawful eviction of a tenant by appropriate legal authorities, nor shall anything in this subdivision apply to occupancies defined by subdivision (b) of Section 1940.

(c) Any landlord who violates this section shall be liable to the tenant in a civil action for all of the following:

(1) Actual damages of the tenant.

(2) An amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each day or part thereof the landlord remains in violation of this section. In determining the amount of such award, the court shall consider proof of such matters as justice may require; however, in no event shall less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) be awarded for each separate cause of action. Subsequent or repeated violations, which are not committed contemporaneously with the initial violation, shall be treated as separate causes of action and shall be subject to a separate award of damages.

(d) In any action under subdivision (c) the court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. In any such action the tenant may seek appropriate injunctive relief to prevent continuing or further violation of the provisions of this section during the pendency of the action. The remedy provided by this section is not exclusive and shall not preclude the tenant from pursuing any other remedy which the tenant may have under any other provision of law.”

Civil Code section 789.3 provides some specific and powerful protections to a tenant in California.

Save the Date - Creek to Bay Day - Sept. 21, 2013

Behind Caldecott Lane are natural creeks, two of which flow into public storm drains created by the City of Oakland to catch the water flow and outlet it to the Bay.

We have been invited to participate in CREEK TO BAY DAY on September 21, 2013.

Creek to Bay Day is part of a national event sponsored by the City of Oakland Environmental Services Division and the California Coastal Commission.

This time, we will focus on the creek behind 142 Caldecott Lane.  Further up the creek, there are:

tree trimmings

landscape cuttings

and such debris as discarded tires, metal pipes, a bed frame, bits and pieces of discarded lamps, and more.


Who knows what other "treasures" we will find?

The real treasure is what lay underneath these discarded items and landscape vegetation.

What lay beneath these items is a natural waterway that flows from the hills above us.

This environment houses birds that sing in the spring and summer . . .

Families of deer who seek shelter in the woods behind us. . .

Indigenous wildflowers. . .

Removed of the debris and cuttings is breathtakingly beautiful scenery that -- working together - we can restore to its natural beauty.

PLEASE JOIN US ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2013 TO HELP 
CLEAN UP THE CREEKS BEHIND CALDECOTT LANE!

WHERE: Behind 142 Caldecott Lane and behind 120 Caldecott Lane

TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon

Water, sports drinks, and tools will be supplied.  Bring your own gloves and sunscreen.  

Unfair Business Practices

Time to provide the garbage "services" that tenants pay for.  High time to provide the six 96-gallon containers for each two residential buildings that tenant's are supposed to have. 

Caldecott Clean-Up Continues

behind 142 Caldecott Lane.

While the storm drain is now cleared, new landscape cuttings appear to have been dumped in the natural waterway that flows down the hill from Tunnel Road above us.

We are making a valiant effort to continue to clean-up and two of us removed about 20 bags of yard waste between us.

We found a bed frame, a large metal pipe, a tire, and a Dish network dish all dumped further up the creek.

And, now the yard bags sit like sentinels, witnesses to our work.  Come join us one early Sunday morning while we put on our garden gloves, bring out our rakes, and continue to beautify and respect our land.

Car Story

Thieves and Lake Temescal

Officer Jason Trode of the Neighborhood Crime Prevention Unit advises Rockridge residents about how not to entice a break-in of your cars.

Since tenants on Caldecott Lane live directly across from the Lake Temescal Park, this is sound advice for us, too.  Click on the link above to read more about what to do to protect your car and your belongings.

The Great Wall Comes Down

Photos from this morning.  Behind the wall is a "hill" and, and both it and the concrete sound wall perched on top, seems amazingly good at reducing traffic noise and is much prettier to look at.

Cleaning house takes a concerted effort but when your tasks are completed, you can look back and see tangible results.

Cleaning storm drains and creeks clogged with landscape cuttings also takes a concerted effort but, oh, how nice it is to begin to see our City's land being restored to its natural beauty.

14 Yard Bags Filled with Landscape Cuttings

Looking Good!

Keeping On, Keeping on Keeping Caldecott Lane Clean

ON EARTH DAY

14 volunteers worked all day to clean-up discarded sofas, construction debris, scaffolding, chain link fence and landscape cuttings clogging public storm drains. . .

It is disheartening to see the following behind 142 Caldecott Lane but we will pledge to keep our city's land free of blight.

We invite you, all tenants and residents living on Caldecott Lane to keep our land beautiful and blight free.

Leno's Bill on Security Deposit Withholding Has Yet to Pass

"California's Democratic Legislative Majority Betrays Tenants "

Click here to read article on BeyondChron about the defeat of Leno's bill to protect tenant's security deposits.

But please send your "Thanks" to Senator Loni Hancock (Democrat - Oakland), who supported the bill.

Sounding in Noise - Walls Come Down

BLEARY EYED AND SLEEP DEPRIVED

From all the bright lights, worker's speaking, hammering and cranes employed in removing the "temporary" sound wall. . .

I found the article in SF Gate interesting in that it discusses the plans for a new, permanent sound wall...

Click here to see the article published in May 2010.

And, did you notice the trees that were planted on the side of the sound wall nearest Caldecott Lane.  They've been plucked and replanted nearest Highway 24.

Won't it be nice when the 4th Bore is open?

PROFITABLE ENTERPRISE?

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE DOES FEATURE TODAY ABOUT ABOUT SECURITY DEPOSIT THEFT

The article discusses the hardship that some landlords impose on their tenants by keeping the tenants security deposit with or without explanation.  

Think about it.  For every tenant on Caldecott Lane who has a pet, there is a $595 charge per unit.  With roughly 44 units, and assuming that all tenants have pets, that alone is $26,180!

Now, add to that an average $2,495 per unit in "security deposits" times 44 units, that's $109,780 in security deposit dollars.

Add both these advance deposits together (e.g. "pet rent" and the "security deposit") and this totals to a WHOPPING $135,960!

To protect your investment, follow these great tips from NOLO press.

NEW FINDINGS

A new discovery of fresh cut grass, rosemary cuttings, and branches of an ornamental plant were found littering the creek bed and storm drain behind 120 Caldecott Lane.  

Let's work together to restore our environment to beauty.

Private property extends about 70 feet back from the sidewalk and is principally marked by the retaining walls.  Beyond that, property is owned by the City of Oakland - it is our property collectively.  

Having formally adopted the property as a participant in Oakland's Adopt-a-Spot program, we are attempting to keep our property free of blight.  

We are working towards making it a place where we feel comfortable allowing our children to play, our pets to walk, and to enjoy on a hot summer's night.

Signs posted on the Verizon public utility.  If you witness illegal dumping, report it!

IS IT GOOD TO SHARE?

LANDLORD'S FAILURE TO RESOLVE SHARED METER BETWEEN TENANTS IS A BREACH OF THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF QUIET ENJOYMENT IN MARYLAND

An interesting article providing food for thought. . .

Need Your Questions Answered?

GREAT RESOURCES FOR TENANTS

and, even better, they are Free!

California Tenant Law

State of California guide to Landlord-Tenant Law or see 

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

The Company we Keep

GETTING THREE BAGS FULL

It's a rare apartment dweller that has a sheep or a snake or a pig as a pet.  But, I know of a dweller up Caldecott Lane who regales us with stories of her python.  Regardless of the pets we keep, the issue of pet deposits is likely to arise.

Pet deposits has also been referred to as a "pet charge," "pet rent," or "pet fee" and impliedly pertain to covering property damage caused by our pets.

Despite the words used to characterize "pet rent," which has grown in recent months from $365 to $595, if pet rent is paid in advance of possession of your leased unit, pet rent is a refundable security deposit.

Under Cal. Civ. Code §1950.5 (a-b),

“a security deposit means any fee “imposed at the beginning of tenancy. . .used for. . .(1)[unpaid rent], (2) the repair of damages. . .(3) the cleaning of the premises upon termination of the tenancy. . .(4) . . . to restore, replace, or return personal property...if authorized [by the rental agreement].”

Civ. Code § 1950.5(l) states:

“No lease or rental agreement may contain any provision characterizing any security as ‘nonrefundable.’”  

Since “pet rent” is a security deposit, it does not expire in 12-months but should remain in the deposit fund until the termination of tenancy. 

Further, under Civ. Code § 1950.5(g)(2):

“Along with the itemized statement, the landlord shall also include copies of documents showing charges incurred and deducted by the landlord to repair or clean the premises. . .” within 21-days after tenants move-out.

And under Civ. Code § 1950.5(l):

“the bad faith claim or retention by a landlord [of a security deposit] . . . may subject the landlord...to statutory damages of up to twice the security, in addition to actual damages. The court may award damages for bad faith whenever the facts warrant that award. . .”

And under Civ. Code § 1950.5(g)(1),

“(g)(1) No later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated the premises. . .or not earlier than 60 calendar days prior to the expiration of a fixed-term lease, the landlord shall furnish the tenant. . . a copy of an itemized statement indicating the basis for, and the amount of, any security received and the disposition of the security, and shall return any remaining portion of the security to the tenant.”

So, if you need to take the landlord to court, be sure to ask for TRIPLE your return for his or her BAD FAITH accounting and be sure to include "pet rent" in your calculations!

DISCLAIMER:   Legal issues are frequently complex and individual.  The information contained on this blog is not legal advice nor does it create an attorney client relationship between the viewer/reader and the writer of this blog.  For legal advice, please consult an attorney who practices landlord tenant law.

NEW SIGHTING?

So, You Want a Working Toilet? Take Two.

A GREAT PRIMER

on building inspections, repairs, and issues related to habitability.  Click here.

You want a working toilet?

GETTING YOUR LANDLORD TO MAKE REPAIRS

Click here for a well written pamphlet on enticing your landlord to make the requisite repairs.

Ever Had Your Security Deposit Ripped Off?

Then sign up to "It's Your Money!" and tell your story.  

Call our state senator, Senator Loni Hancock, and ask her to support Senator Mark Leno's bill, SB 603. 

Cal. Civ. Code 1950.5(l) states:

(l) The bad faith claim or retention by a landlord [of a security deposit] . . . may subject the landlord. . .  to statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages. 

Take steps to protect your security deposit NOW if you plan to move.  

If you didn't do this on move-in, take dated photographs of your apartment now.

If there are any things that should be repaired - a leaky toilet, broken garbage disposal, etc. - request the repair in writing.

Thoroughly clean the apartment on move-out and get a "professional" to clean carpeting.

Clean the appliances, inside and out.

Wash the windows. Scrub the floors and wash down the walls.

Request a pre-move-out inspection two weeks before you move-out.  

Take photographs of the condition of your apartment upon move-out.

And, follow these instructions to the letter!

FACT OR FICTION?

WHAT IS A CREEK?

“A Creek is a watercourse that is a naturally occurring swale or depression, or engineered channel that carries fresh or estuarine water either seasonally or year around.”

And what is a Natural Watercourse (which. in Oakland, is considered a “Creek)?”

“[A natural watercourse] is a channel with defined bed and banks made and habitually used by water passing down as a collected body or stream in those seasons of the year and at those times when the streams in the region are accustomed to flow.. .

A canyon or ravine through which surface water runoff customarily flows in rainy seasons is a natural watercourse. Alterations to a natural watercourse, such as the construction of conduits or other improvements in the bed of the stream, do not affect its status as a natural watercourse.

A natural watercourse includes all channels through which, in the existing condition of the country, the water naturally flows, and may include new channels created in the course of urban development through which waters presently flow.”

Locklinv. City of Lafayette (1994) 7 Cal. 4th 327, 345.

CREEK PROTECTION ORDINANCE

The City of Oakland has developed a Creek Protection Ordinance which is regulated by the Environmental Services Manager and their decisions can be appealed through the City of Oakland Planning Commission.

For a map of our watersheds and creeks, click here. 

WHEN IS A CREEK NOT A CREEK?

As it relates to 120 to 142 Caldecott Lane, there was a final determination made by the City of Oakland Planning Commission that the “waterways” behind 120 and 142 Caldecott Lanes are not creeks.

NATURAL WATERWAYS BEHIND CALDECOTT LANE

"Storm drains flow directly to the Bay, and [are an] important part of Oakland's watershed; it is important that nothing but rain water enters the storm drains." 

There is a natural waterway behind 120 Caldecott Lane which flows into a publicly owned storm drain. 

There is a natural waterway behind 142 Caldecott Lane which also flows into a publicly owned storm drain.

Behind 150 Caldecott Lane, there is a private property storm drain immediately behind the retaining wall. 

On April 20, 2013, fourteen volunteers sweated in the hot sun to clean up the publicly owned storm drains of at least 125 yard bags of illegally dumped landscape cuttings.  These cuttings appear to have been dumped into the drains and waterways over a period of time and included rosemary cuttings, cuttings of ornamental and other plants.  It's critical that we work together to report and to prevent dumping and to keep our watersheds, waterways and creeks free-flowing.

FOR MORE INFORMATION – Click Here.

TROUBLEMAKING TENANTS?

A BALANCE OF POWER

Just who is a troublemaker?

The tenant who would like . . .

• Working plumbing?
• Heat?
• An adequate number of garbage containers?
• A building free of rodents?
• Protection from flooding?
• Reasonable PG&E bills?

Or a property manager who fails to or only partially provides for these things?

Most state legislatures realize that there is an unfair bargaining power between landlords and tenants.  Many state legislatures have created laws to encourage greater fairness in landlord tenant relations.

For example, in California, the law can protect a tenant against retaliation from a landlord if the tenant legitimately complains to:

·         A building inspection department,

·         A government agency.

·         Or advocates on behalf of other tenants.

See California, Cal. Civ. Code sec. 1942.5 to learn more about our state’s anti-retaliation statue which was enacted to encourage tenants to report legitimate issues relating to habitability, building code violations, and necessary repairs.  If we rent property, we are entitled to working electrical outlets, plumbing, adequate sanitation, and to full disclosure about utilities. 

A tenant can use the anti-retaliation statue both as a “sword” and a “shield.”  That is, one can bring suit against the landlord (sword) and use the statute to shield oneself as a defense against eviction.

And any eviction that is done to retaliate against the tenant for making legitimate complaints is both wrongful and illegal.

DISCLAIMER:   Legal issues are frequently complex and individual.  The information contained on this blog is not legal advice nor does it create an attorney client relationship between the viewer/reader and the writer of this blog.  For legal advice, please consult an attorney who practices landlord tenant law.