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Judge places dangerous property in San Luis Obispo in receivership

December 22, 2022

Fire at Prado Road

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A judge placed a San Luis Obispo property located next to the Prado Road homeless shelter in a receivership earlier this month, ruling authorities must step in to clean up the criminality and dangerous conditions at the location.

SLO resident William Sievers owns a 2.2-acre lot that is adjacent to the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center. The property has been used to store recycled items ranging from cars to appliances to machine parts.

In recent years, the property has devolved into a haven for squatters, thieves and other individuals who have started fights and fires and engaged in drug deals and general mayhem. Sievers rents the property to tenants, some of whom have been difficult to evict over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

The city of San Luis Obispo filed an emergency order to appoint a receiver to take control of the property. Sievers, in turn, tried to convince a judge that he is in the process of removing trespassers, increasing security and cleaning up the land.

Attorneys representing the city argued Sievers has yet to do so, despite years of warnings, which has resulted in more than 100 police calls and two fires since 2020.

Judged Tana Coates issued a ruling on Dec. 14, siding with the city and granting the receivership request. Coates assigned the property to California Receivership Group Inc., which can take out loans against the lot to bring it up to city code.

Coates wrote in her ruling that she is sympathetic to Sievers’ issues, but she is unsure what more he can do to remedy the situation, given that problems at the property were identified in 2017 and have still not been resolved.

“Again, the court understands there are individuals at the property who are taking advantage of [Sievers] and who refuse to comply with his requests and lawful demands,” Coates wrote. “Thus, the court finds the city must step in to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public.”

Sievers and a friend who lived at the property allege the city did not adequately step in to address the escalation in criminal activity happening there.

Kathi DiPeri said in a handwritten court statement that she was violently assaulted on the property and police did not respond appropriately. DiPeri said she called police multiple times.

“COVID had changed the rules and gave the police an excuse to do nothing about criminal activity,” DiPeri wrote in the statement. “Their patent answer was it’s a ‘civil matter.’ My being assaulted, theft, selling and doing drugs, breaking into my vehicle, and moving stuff out and selling it are not civil matters. They are criminal acts and should have been treated as such.”

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for  Jan. 18.


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Gosh, if only there was some sort of shelter nearby, paid for by taxes, operated by well paid employees, that could house these homeless persons…


5

The city probably wants to own it? Maybe they can buy it with the sewer budget?


7

As much as you have to see something like this…its really bad. I go by almost daily and this is a good thing.


9

“its really bad”


I have been inside one of the rentals on the property, its really bad.


6

How is he suppose to enforce anything without the support of Law enforcement?

This does seem like a set up! How can they take the property on one hand, complaining it’s out of control, yet have continued to refuse his requests for help? Hmmmm


27

Wow! This situation reeks of fraud. A judge (who is also an attorney) takes someone’s property, turns it over to what appears to be a private agency (a developer?), and grants them the right to mortgage the property to any degree they want and develop to any degree they want (oops… I mean “bring it up to city code.”). Once they have extracted all the value from the property, they would presumably have no more use for it, and the judge would return worthless property to the original owner. To add insult, they probably will want him to continue to pay taxes on the property for the duration of this taking (possibly in perpetuity if the developer builds a hotel on the property in order to “bring it up to city code.”). All this without any payment for the taking.


A much fairer way to accomplish this would be for the city to condemn the property with eminent domain (buy it from the current owner by force), and then do whatever they want with it.


25

What value is being extracted exactly? This property is worth ten times less in it’s current state compared to totally clear of anything at all. It’s been shown the owner is willing but incapable of performing the task themselves. They’re doing this person a favor. There’s only so many chances.


6

“reeks of fraud.” What conspiracy are you smoking?


That property has been a junk pile of old cars, junk, substandard housing and far more for decades. I drove a friends camper there, to store it. Its still there 25 years later dissolving onto the ground that drains into the creek.


If you haven’t seen the property but claim conspiracy by the government, please get help, seriously.


12

All judges are attorneys Einstein. And yes, the contracted private agency will not be cheap and the property, which Bill bought for $50,000, will be encumbered. It was a junkyard and toxic waste site and is now, additionally, a homeless encampment that he does not control.


7

I doubt ALL judges are attorneys. In my experience, ALL of anything is not true. Irrelevant anyway. I stated parenthetically that this judge is an attorney to alert readers as to how corruptible and untrustworthy this judge might be.


0

Check out the overhead view via Goggle Maps…. Definitely needs some help to clear that amount of pileup! No denying it; sorry pal.


10