Another lawsuit concerning so-called renovictions has been filed in the City of Santa Barbara.
"We're all working-class people. We all work at local companies, and many of us have been long-term residents," said Corina Svacina, who has lived at 215 Bath Street for seven years.
She says since the building changed ownership last year, things have changed.
"Ever since they took over the building in September, people have been getting, you know, notices to vacate," Svacina said.
The building and its tenants are at the center of an argument over renovictions, evictions that take place due to the need for renovations.
"Ever since I've lived here, it's always been a really tight-knit community. Everyone's really always looked out for each other and more so now than ever," Svacina continued.
Property owner Chris Parker says his company purchased the buildings intending to renovate.
"There's a lot of life safety issues that we're dealing with here — building systems, plumbing, electrical, as you can see — and we're rectifying those issues, bringing everything up to code, which is not cheap," Parker explained.
The cost to renovate the three more than 70-year-old buildings is around $3 million, according to Parker.
"And you can see that fixing up the infrastructure is not possible with tenants living here," he said.
Santa Barbara’s tenants’ protection ordinance requires renters to get the first right of refusal to return after a renovation, but not at the same rent, which can price out former tenants like Svacina.
"We don't have a lot of money, and it's difficult to really exercise and protect your rights as a tenant and so we're really thankful that the city has stepped in and really seen what we've gone through and taken action," Svacina said.
Property manager James Knapp is being sued by the city over allegations of illegally attempting to evict tenants. Knapp filed a counter-civil lawsuit on July 18, alleging the city violated his ability to fairly access the court system.
In an email statement, he urged the city to set clear rules for both tenants and landlords on how to maintain and renovate properties.
"We're trying to be good housing providers. We're trying to improve our community, improve the housing in our community, and I feel like we're doing the right thing," Parker said.
"Want to continue to live here. We want to continue to live in peace and have a good community and we want to continue to do that because it's difficult to find housing here," Svacina said.
A pre-trial hearing for the civil case is set for August 19.
