February 8, 2005
Amy Sexton,
Manager
Lakewood Apartments
515 John Muir Drive
San Francisco, California 94132
Steve Donohue, President
Western
National Property Management Co.
8
Executive Circle
Irvine,
California 92614-6746
Ed Matthews, President
T&S Realty, L.L.C.
900 East Hillsdale Blvd.
Foster City, California 94404
Muir Partners, L.P.
c/o Joyce Hameetman
John Muir Corporation
2029
Century Park E. # 1550
Los
Angeles, California 90067
References:
1) Letter, Lakewood Tenant Association to Amy Sexton,
manager, Lakewood Apartments, March 27, 2004
2.) Letter, Lakewood Tenant Association to Amy Sexton,
manager, Lakewood Apartments, August 18, 2004
3.) Letter, Lakewood Tenant Association to Amy Sexton,
manager, Lakewood Apartments, February 8, 2005
4.) Letter, Amy Sexton, manager, to Mona Cereghino,
February 16, 2005
Dear Ms. Sexton et al.:
In
response to Ms. Sexton's letter (ref. # 4),
Enclosed
please find another survey of the security of the doors performing a security
function at Lakewood Apartments in San Francisco.
This survey follows two others previously transmitted to Ms. Sexton
(reference nos. 1 and 2) as well as numerous such surveys transmitted to managers
preceding Ms. Sexton. Defects still exist compromising the security of this
property in violation of San Francisco's Building Security Ordinance.
In this survey we have
performed a partial cross-referencing of the most recent physical door numbering
performed under the supervision of your former assistant manager Jeff Clarke,
to earlier physical numbering systems implemented by your predecessors and
to the original nonphysical numbering system originated by tenant Ross Wilkinson.
Of the 56 doors covered by the enclosed survey, your new numbering
system could not be found on 32. Your physical numbering is, therefore, an
obvious failure and demonstrates, we think, a continued lack of diligence
on the part of Western National Property Management and the owners of this
property to maintain the security of this property to the minimum standards
required by law.
Photographs
of a few example unsecured doors are attached.
Photo # 1 shows a chain-link
type door that secures an outside stairwell. In past reports (most recently
reference #2 above) we have notified you that bolts were missing that should
have secured the jamb to avoid an interference of the door and the jamb, which
was hindering unassisted door closure. We now observe that bolts have been
added to this jamb except near the top. At the top of the jamb, an electrical
conduit is out of place behind the jamb preventing the jamb from being fastened
flush with the wall. While it is hard for us to believe, apparently your workman
simply stopped installing fasteners in the jamb due to the interference of
the conduit, leaving the jamb loose at the top and free to continue to interfere
with door closure. The conduit serves
an alarm intended to warn of the door remaining open. That alarm, and all
of the others in the residential portion of the property, have been long-since
abandoned by the owners and management so there was no reason why your workman
could not have simply removed it. This
example reflects not only on the quality of your maintenance but on the competence
and ability of your management to assure that maintenance and security are
properly performed.
Photo #2 shows a door with
the latch missing. Obviously, without a latch, the door is entirely unsecured.
There are several doors with the latch not only missing but apparently intentionally
removed by the owners and management given the fact that those latches have
been observed and reported by us as missing for many YEARS.
This is the door that the
potential trespasser double-parked their vehicle close to and entered the
property as reported by Ross Wilkinson to you (Ms. Sexton) by telephone at
11:20 am on February 3rd. As
you may recall, Mr. Wilkinson reported to you the plate number of the suspect
vehicle. You asked Mr. Wilkinson if he reported this to the police and Mr.
Wilkinson explained to you the obvious: that you and not he would be in possession
of license plate numbers of vehicles authorized to park here and that only
you, not he, would have the information to ascertain whether the vehicle belonged
to anyone authorized to be in the garage such that only you could make a responsible
report to the police of trespassing. We note that we have repeatedly received
reports from tenants of the attempts of the current management to pass the
buck to tenants for your own responsibility for security of this property.
We believe the tenants have a reasonable expectation that you will
act with reasonable diligence to prevent crime on this property. The tenants
can and should call the police when they have first-hand knowledge of a crime.
However, given that only you have the information as to who is and
who is not authorized to be on this property, you have a duty above and beyond
the tenants' to investigate when the tenants provide you with information
that you might be able to utilize to apprehend trespassers.
Mr. Wilkinson notes that you said you'd look into it but you did not
express any enthusiasm let alone appreciation for the information provided
to you. We think the entire management and ownership of this property needs
a change in attitude.
Photo # 3 shows a door
that was found with the latch stuck in on the inspection of February 3rd.
On reinspection on February 7th the door was found properly
latched but pressing the latch in it would again stick.
Sincerely,
Mona
Cereghino, President,
Ross
C. Wilkinson, Vice-president
Photo 1
Record # 48, D-Building, 1st Floor,
exterior stairwell, chain-link door to exterior, electrical conduit behind door
jamb causing jamb interference with closure.
Photo 2
Record # 11, D-Building, 3rd Floor, Garage
to back elevator near parking space 691: latched missing.
Photo 3
Record # 18 (
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