Grandma Threatened with Jail Over Garage Conversion

1. LisaL
   October 18th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

   Well… seems like something could’ve tryed to have been worked out before it got to this point. If she got multiple letters about it, she or her family could’ve tryed to get something done to resolve it.

   I have sympathy for her and her family since it sounds like they purchased the house the way it is so never saw anything wrong with it, BUT the law is the law.

   Hope something works out.

2. Pol x
   October 18th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

   Threated?

3. hedwig
   October 18th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

   sometimes, of course, there’s more to the story.

   My gut reaction is of anger. It’d be nice to know more about this, actually.

4. Skipweasel
   October 18th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

   Don’t solicitors and surveyors get paid to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen when you buy a house?

5. Buzz
   October 18th, 2008 at 2:01 pm

   Letter of the law vs intent of the law.

   Like harassing someone for not making a complete stop at a stop sign.

6. Ant
   October 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm

   Full House had its garage converted.

7. DOJ
   October 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

   Light is coming out of her garage
   She must be stopped

8. Edward
   October 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

   Garage conversions are generally against the law in California. They are a bad idea for numerous reasons, but according to this blurb, Camargo is either lying or poorly represented.

   If the garage was converted at the time of her purchase, she has the ability to successfully sue the previous owner, the title company, the escrow company and the real estate agent.

9. ted
   October 18th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

   The wall that opened up onto the driveway wasn’t a giveaway?

   That’s quite the bedroom with its “cabinets, sink, bathroom, and refrigerator”.

   Not a lot of furniture in it. Plus, it looks pretty new for something supposedly built over 30 years ago.

   No sympathy.

10. PJ
    October 18th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    So what if the garage is a bedroom? What’s wrong with you people that you think it’s okay to send someone to prison for that? Have you all been whipped into line and brainwashed enough to think that jail is okay for simple problems? shame on you.

11. ted
    October 18th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

    Did you even read the article, PJ? They don’t want to send her to jail. She asked for that sentence because she doesn’t want to pay the fine.

    No sympathy.

12. shecky
    October 18th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Why shouldn’t people be allowed to do whatever the hell they want to do with their garages?

13. renderanything
    October 18th, 2008 at 7:47 pm

    Any time you change the use of your home from its original plans, there are hoops you must jump through first.
    My last roommate/landlord had a slightly similar problem. He had an “Arizona room” which is an add-on that was a part of the house before he purchased it. He later enclosed the carport making it a garage, and one of the friendly neighbors sent an inspector to pay us a visit. He was told to submit plans for extending the existing walls of the carport, or face a fine. Another fine was given for not having submitted plans for the add-on, even though it was done by a previous owner.
    I learned (through his experience) to check before doing any major structural work on any house I may own in the future.

14. Sofar
    October 18th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Why are there all these laws about what you can and cannot do to your house?

15. Tony LaRocca
    October 18th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    That’s the wonderful thing about the law: all you have to do is say that something is right or wrong, and it BECOMES right or wrong. Kind of like chanting “downloading music is stealing” over and over again.

16. Tom
    October 18th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    Abuse of power of this magnitude should be punished with death.

    Honestly, people. The government doesn’t have the right to do this. This is exactly the same as someone storming into your house and holding you at gunpoint and forcing you to convert a bedroom into a garage at your own expense. Most uses of government authority amount to the same thing. In some cases, it may be warranted, but this CERTAINLY isn’t one of them. The government is not the answer to your problems. It is the ENEMY. At best, it is an enemy that doesn’t do anything. Lately, it has become more and more active against we the people.

17. Alex
    October 18th, 2008 at 10:46 pm

    *threatened* Thanks Pol x - it’s fixed now.

18. Crystal
    October 19th, 2008 at 12:38 am

    Amazingly enough, we have this EXACT same problem here in our city (yucaipa, ca). We bought a house with what we found out later was a garage conversion. We almost had a lien put against our house because of it. In order for a house to be “up to code” here in Yucaipa, you have to have a garage. Sooo..if we ever want to get a project approved by the city, we have to convert our third bedroom back into a garage before they will accept any changes to our existing house. Ridiculous if you ask me. Don’t move to So-cal, people. The weather just isn’t worth the trouble anymore.

19. ukanduit
    October 19th, 2008 at 9:31 am

    land of the free???

20. D Bozko
    October 19th, 2008 at 9:35 am

    Edward: “If the garage was converted at the time of her purchase, she has the ability to successfully sue the previous owner, the title company, the escrow company and the real estate agent.”

    The article says she did buy it that way. Where were the powers that be when it was converted and later when the house was sold. Edward is right and the sity should be helping her persue that case instead of blaming her. Oh how I hate city government. Small minded people with superiorty complexes.

21. EnragedCitizen
    October 19th, 2008 at 11:22 am

    building(at)la-quinta.org

    la-quintaDOTORG/Index.aspx?page=23

22. ukanduit
    October 19th, 2008 at 11:49 am

    If you seriously think that there is anything fundamental unsafe about converting a garage into a living space then you truly present a weak argument!

23. ted
    October 19th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    D Bozko, as I pointed out, that so-called “bedroom” doesn’t look all that old - except for maybe the orange drapes. She’s not being entirely honest.

    And if they were ignorant of, or ignored, the building codes when it was converted, who knows what other code violations (possibly related to safety) were done? Maybe there’s an electrical hazard waiting to set the whole house on fire.

24. dermot
    October 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

    I don’t know what depresses me more: the ordinances that prohibit garage conversion (which will be most needed in our oil-poor future), or the slavish, authoritarian comments by many of the people on this thread.

    Many local laws are irrational - such as those that prohibit rainwater catchment, or laws that prevent you from growing food on your own property (one must be a docile sheep and maintain a putting green instead). These laws have demonstrably failed, and will soon be an impediment to the new poor. That’s you, mate, in case you haven’t been paying attention to the financial news.

    We’re going to need to start keeping CHICKENS, never mind converting garages.

    To those ‘authoritarian followers’ who are OK with a granny being sent to prison (at taxpayers expense) for the audacity of wanting to adapt a garage for a non-automobile life form - two words:

    GROW UP.

25. The Other Parker
    October 19th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

    This scofflaw is a danger to society with her immoral unlawful bedroom! How many people has she hurt already? Something must be done to stop her criminal rampage before she strikes again!! Won’t somebody please think of the CHILDREN?!?

26. Brian
    October 20th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    Can someone (Edward, you still here?) tell us why garage conversions are a safety hazard? Seems very odd.

27. EnragedCitizen
    October 20th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    “that so-called ‘bedroom’ doesn’t look all that old”

    So, you’re capable of judging the age of a room, by looking at a picture on a web site? You’re sure that the flooring hasn’t been replaced in 30 years? Or that the the lady doesn’t just keep everything clean, tidy, and in good repair?

    And Dermot, your post was spot-on! Agreed, 100%

28. EnragedCitizen
    October 20th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    Mayor: Don Adolph
    760-777-7030
    council@la-quinta.org

    City Manager: Thomas P. Genovese
    760-777-7035
    citymanagersoffice@la-quinta.org

29. EnragedCitizen
    October 20th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    “tell us why garage conversions are a safety hazard? Seems very odd.”

    My hunch is for two reasons. One, the bureaucrats don’t want houses to contain “too many” people, which an extra bedroom would facilitate, and two, the bureaucrats don’t want “ugly vehicles” parked outside in view, by necessity.

    It’s all about limiting the ability of The People to arrange affordable housing, like (several people or a large family) sharing one house, and “keeping up appearances.” Same reason many municipalities forbid people from drying their clothes on a line outside.

    The bureaucrats who make and enforce these rules, don’t ever have to worry about a roof over their head(s), or how to pay the electric bill.

30. EnragedCitizen
    October 20th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    You might also notice, that the entire city council is as White as a slice of Wonder bread, but the grandmother they want to jail is likely Latino. Hmmm…

    http://www.la-quinta.org/Index.aspx?page=38

    Same with the Housing a-hole:
    Director of Building & Safety: Tom Hartung
    http://la-quinta.org/Index.aspx?page=23

31. Nausika
    October 20th, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    Looking at the photo, I’m guessing the linoleum on that floor might have been put down 30 - 40 years ago. The orangey-looking decor suggests late 1960’s or early 1970’s. Maybe in those days laws governing fitouts were different. If city council is applying its current laws retrospectively, that in itself could be illegal and the lady may have a case against the bureaucrats. You can’t say that a particular building law dated such-and-such date must be applied to anything done before that date otherwise everybody would be forced to tear their houses down and replace them with tepees or forest or whatever existed in California before the Spanish arrived!

    What about the neighbours? Have they complained about any noises or other problems arising from the conversion?

    Also I should think any conversion that doesn’t alter the exterior appearance of the house as seen from the street would not need city council approval but I live in Australia where this law applies in some towns and cities.

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