Expansion

OK, so what am I going to do? The property next door is an illegal multi-family rental property, with a 3-bedroom house, and, in a two-story property, a one-bedroom unit and a studio apartment, a stand-alone building that is not up to code. This property has been vacant for at least 5 years, but recently a family moved into the “big” house, complete with kids and a dog. Soon thereafter, a family of 3 moved into the studio apartment, but I haven’t seen anyone using the one-bedroom unit upstairs. Yet. It may need some refurbishing as it had quite a history of use while the rest of the property was vacant. I actually called the police and told them that I thought there was some sex slavery/prostitution sort of thing going on as men would arrive with young girls and leave a couple of hours later—and the girls looked like they had been abused.

Anyway, back to the story of the octopus complex…

Last week, I noticed some workers enclosing the garage, installing two regular doors in the space that used to be the 2-car garage door opening. They’ve been doing carpentry inside and out, and had the former garage opening surface covered with spray-on coating that looks like stucco to match the rest of the house.

Today, the workers have been inside the two units, perhaps doing some of the finish work inside. I don’t know how they will bring plumbing to the new “apartments,” but they have to be hooked up to the city sewer, which may alert a sharp-eyed inspector to the fact that a property designed for a single family dwelling has now been “improved” to house 5 renters and their families!

I want to alert the city to this violation, but I’m not sure how to do that without giving away the fact that I am facing the renovated/ repurposed garage when I do dishes at my sink, so I know what’s been done. No one off-property will know that the garage is now two rental units because it sits behind the 3-bedroom house at the front of the property. But, the fact is that there are density requirements associated with property. This residential area is not zoned for the number of people who are going to be occupying it.

How do I get “someone” to come see the problem and, perhaps, offer a remedy? I don’t plan to live here for the rest of my life, but I have no plans to relocate in the near future, so I’ll have to live with the situation whether I want to or not. I’m concerned about retaliation if I sic an inspector on them as I would be the first guess of who ratted them out.

One of those damned if I do, damned if I don’t situations which make life interesting.