Woman, 77, faces jail because of aging house
Orange officials have taken her to court; they say they just want code violations fixed.
By EUGENE W. FIELDS and ROSALBA RUIZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 112| Recommend 11
ORANGE City officials are threatening a 77-year-old woman with jail and thousands of dollars in fines if she doesn’t fix what they say are code violations on her sagging home in historic Old Towne Orange.
"The city is pestering me a lot," Genoveva Aranda said in Spanish. "They say it’s because I have the house all broken."
The conflict centers around two rooms added to her 500-square-foot home on Sycamore Avenue before Aranda and her husband William bought it 37 years ago.
On Wednesday, Aranda pleaded not guilty to nine misdemeanor charges.
The city notified Aranda of the various code violations in December of 2003 and little has been done to correct them, said Assistant City Attorney Wayne Winthers.
"There’s been no movement on the other side, so we finally got to the point where we had to do something," Winthers said.
According to a letter Aranda received from city officials in 2007, the charges carry a possible penalty of $1,000 and six months in jail for each uncorrected violation. Aranda’s next scheduled court appearance is Nov. 21, when she is to be assigned a public defender.
"Oh my god, I am so nervous," she said. "I don’t know what to do."
Aranda lives off of the $1,200 a month in Social Security benefits she has received since 1996 when her husband died.
She has been unable to get a bank loan, because she has no credit rating and she is unable to use her home as collateral until she brings it up to code, which could cost up to $150,000, she said.
City officials say the bedrooms’ height is too low, the bedrooms lack a stable foundation and the bedroom windows are too small to provide safe escape routes.
"Well, I’m not guilty. I haven’t done anything wrong," Aranda said. "I would like to have the house all fixed up, a pretty house, but I don’t have the means, the money to be able to fix it."
Winthers said the city wants Aranda to bring the house up to code, which is the reason for the court case.
"All we ever look for in these cases is compliance. That’s all we ever want," Winthers said. "We’re not looking for money or jail time or anything like that."
According to property records, the home had one bedroom when it was built in 1923.
Gema Tapia, Aranda’s daughter, said the laundry room was the only room untouched during a house fire almost 34 years ago.
"Fire inspectors came out and no one said anything about it then," Tapia said about the added rooms. "They didn’t say they weren’t up to code."
Both sides agree on how this case began: A probation check on an Aranda son.
Winthers said Aranda is liable for the code violations because she is the current owner of the property.
"We have a lot of those where someone else may have done the work and then they bought and we become aware of it," Winthers said. "Unfortunately, the homeowner who owns it at the time is responsible for it."
Tapia said she asked her mother to move in with her, but Aranda refused.
"She said she wants to die here," Tapia said. "Give her a loan, she’d be more than happy to fix up her house."
Staff researcher Michael Doss contributed to this report.
http://www.cbs2.com/video/[email protected]
THE SPOT ON CHANNEL 2 NEWS ABOUT IT.
PEACE TO THE HOMIE CASPER AND SUCIO. FUCK THEM CROOKED ADD MOTHERFUCKERS.
Orange officials have taken her to court; they say they just want code violations fixed.
By EUGENE W. FIELDS and ROSALBA RUIZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 112| Recommend 11
ORANGE City officials are threatening a 77-year-old woman with jail and thousands of dollars in fines if she doesn’t fix what they say are code violations on her sagging home in historic Old Towne Orange.
"The city is pestering me a lot," Genoveva Aranda said in Spanish. "They say it’s because I have the house all broken."
The conflict centers around two rooms added to her 500-square-foot home on Sycamore Avenue before Aranda and her husband William bought it 37 years ago.
On Wednesday, Aranda pleaded not guilty to nine misdemeanor charges.
The city notified Aranda of the various code violations in December of 2003 and little has been done to correct them, said Assistant City Attorney Wayne Winthers.
"There’s been no movement on the other side, so we finally got to the point where we had to do something," Winthers said.
According to a letter Aranda received from city officials in 2007, the charges carry a possible penalty of $1,000 and six months in jail for each uncorrected violation. Aranda’s next scheduled court appearance is Nov. 21, when she is to be assigned a public defender.
"Oh my god, I am so nervous," she said. "I don’t know what to do."
Aranda lives off of the $1,200 a month in Social Security benefits she has received since 1996 when her husband died.
She has been unable to get a bank loan, because she has no credit rating and she is unable to use her home as collateral until she brings it up to code, which could cost up to $150,000, she said.
City officials say the bedrooms’ height is too low, the bedrooms lack a stable foundation and the bedroom windows are too small to provide safe escape routes.
"Well, I’m not guilty. I haven’t done anything wrong," Aranda said. "I would like to have the house all fixed up, a pretty house, but I don’t have the means, the money to be able to fix it."
Winthers said the city wants Aranda to bring the house up to code, which is the reason for the court case.
"All we ever look for in these cases is compliance. That’s all we ever want," Winthers said. "We’re not looking for money or jail time or anything like that."
According to property records, the home had one bedroom when it was built in 1923.
Gema Tapia, Aranda’s daughter, said the laundry room was the only room untouched during a house fire almost 34 years ago.
"Fire inspectors came out and no one said anything about it then," Tapia said about the added rooms. "They didn’t say they weren’t up to code."
Both sides agree on how this case began: A probation check on an Aranda son.
Winthers said Aranda is liable for the code violations because she is the current owner of the property.
"We have a lot of those where someone else may have done the work and then they bought and we become aware of it," Winthers said. "Unfortunately, the homeowner who owns it at the time is responsible for it."
Tapia said she asked her mother to move in with her, but Aranda refused.
"She said she wants to die here," Tapia said. "Give her a loan, she’d be more than happy to fix up her house."
Staff researcher Michael Doss contributed to this report.
http://www.cbs2.com/video/[email protected]
THE SPOT ON CHANNEL 2 NEWS ABOUT IT.
PEACE TO THE HOMIE CASPER AND SUCIO. FUCK THEM CROOKED ADD MOTHERFUCKERS.
