Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Legal problems continue at vacated Cedar Village

Elderly tenants have all moved

By Anne Gelhaus

The elderly tenants of Cedar Village have all moved away, but legal matters continue to dog those who were involved in running the Los Gatos board-and-care home.

The approximately 50 residents of the low-cost housing development on Parr Avenue received five-day eviction notices on Jan. 25. The eviction was put on hold after one tenant filed a claim of possession, asserting that Cedar Village residents had a right to remain in their homes. But even as the claim was making its way through municipal court, tenants were vacating the facility. The last tenant moved out earlier this month, and Cedar Village was shut down.

Orrin Grover, an attorney for Cedar Village Inc., said the management company turned in its operator's license after closing the facility. Nevertheless, Barbara Mordy of the state Department of Social Services said the department will continue to seek the revocation of the license, if only to get it on the record.

"Over the years, there have been serious violations at Cedar Village," Mordy said. "If the license is revoked, the managers will be prohibited from applying for another license for a minimum of two years."

Mordy said these violations included cases in which tenants were not given their prescribed medications or were overmedicated.

Grover called the license-revocation proceedings an empty threat and said he is more concerned with collecting back rent from Cedar Village's owners, Capri Associates of Castro Valley, who bought the facility last June.

"We believe Capri owes Cedar Villages a fair amount of rent for caring for its tenants for this period of time," Grover said.

"That's the most ridiculous concept I could possibly imagine," responded Capri manager Dan Davini. "We don't owe them any rent."

In fact, Davini said, the courts have awarded two separate judgments to Capri to collect a total of $30,000 in back rent from Cedar Village's managers, who have yet to make payment.

Davini said his company will spend the next couple months determining "the highest and best use" for the Cedar Village site. The town code requires that whatever is built there must provide senior housing and that a certain percentage of the units must be priced at below-market rates.