Sacramento renters complain of harassment after wave of ‘petty’ citations by new manager
Black and Latino tenants at a Sacramento affordable housing complex are raising concerns about their new property manager, who they say is making the community unlivable with a barrage of citations over trivial issues.
One tenant, Paul Nickson, has received citations for having personal property, such as a broom or a statue of Jesus Christ, displayed near his door.
Another resident, Diablo Nash, has received citations over the way he parks. In one case, he backed into a parking spot. In another, he parked in a garage in a way that partially covered the vehicle’s license plate.
The notice from Glen Ellen site manager Sharon Calkins called his parking “nuisance and illegal behavior” in a citation notice, deeming it justifiable to provoke eviction.
“She needs to be gone,” he said.
They joined other Black and Latino tenants in a Jan. 31 letter to Glen Ellen owner Mutual Housing, an organization that operates 12 affordable housing complexes in Sacramento. They wrote they felt harassed because of their race and asked the company to remove “petty violations.”
Instead, more citations were issued.
The company declined to discuss the residents’ complaints. Calkins also declined to comment.
The company released a written statement describing Calkins’ responsibilities.
“When issues arise at any Mutual Housing community, property managers are responsible for addressing them and ensuring accountability, with the goal of providing all residents a safe, stable, affordable place to live,” wrote Mutual Housing communicators coordinator Steven Root.
Help from tenants union
The citations at Glen Ellen Apartments near the Sacramento executive airport worry tenants because they could eventually lead to eviction, which would cost them their current subsidized rent and force them to compete for housing in a surging rental market.
Glen Ellen Apartments sits near the executive airport neighborhood off of Highway 99 and Fruitridge Boulevard. Residents say it’s a quiet complex with lush green lawns in its courtyard.
The tenants are getting help from the Sacramento Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Sacramento Tenants Union and community activist Berry Accius.
Sacramento Tenants Union organizer Erica Jaramillo said the residents are within their rights to express that they feel they are experiencing discrimination and harassment in the complex.
“The reasons for them are not substantive enough to label a tenant as undesirable,” said Jaramillo. “When they start filling their file with those [fines and citations] they won’t be able to rent at other mutual housing projects.”
Nickson, an elderly resident who has been living there for the last 15 years, listed a number of issues and miscommunications he had with Calkins, including a camera installed in his parking space and the citation.
“The write-ups that I get are so callous,” said Nickson. “She doesn’t talk to anybody in a normal fashion, she screams at you to the point where no one wants to come near her.”
Residents move out of Sacramento complex
Other Black tenants, who requested to not be named, have said they are experiencing stress and feel uncomfortable.
Mychelle Franklin-Barker told The Bee that she’s lived at Glen Ellen Mutual Housing with her husband for the past six years. They began receiving notices of lease violations after Calkins took over in August 2021.
The couple plans to relocate at the end of the month. She said they took the first place they could find in order to get her family out of Glen Ellen.
Franklin-Barker said Calkins has been “rude and irate” with her, describing eye-rolls and head shakes when they see each other.
“We feel so compelled to move because of the constant harassment and petty lease violations that we have received,” said Franklin-Barker.
What is Mutual Housing California?
Mutual Housing California has operated for over 30 years, owning and operating 1,071 homes, housing over 3,200 residents.
Since 1988, its mission has been to develop, operate and advocate for sustainable housing and build strong community relationships between residents and site leaders. Its objective as a nonprofit organization is to revitalize low-income communities and strengthen neighborhood assets.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 7:42 AM.
