An elderly woman, her son and her attorney are hoping a settlement offer to the city of Grover Beach this week will finally resolve their contention the city blocked access to her home and prevented her from selling the property.

It all depends on whether the city accepts the offer or makes an acceptable counter offer. Otherwise, the trio plans to proceed with a lawsuit against the city, said Roy Ogden, the attorney for former Grover Beach resident Mireya Jaimes-Freyre.

“We're trying to make (the offer) an attractive alternative,” said Ogden, noting the proposed settlement, whose terms are confidential, would be “substantially less” than what is sought in the lawsuit and the costs of taking it to trial.

Ogden and Jaimes-Freyre appeared Monday night at the Grover Beach City Council, where during public comment Ogden asked the council to assist in “making the settlement happen.”

Because the plea came during public comment and was not part of the advertised agenda, the council could not comment or respond.

Jay Hieatt, who is now the attorney for the city on the issue, said he couldn't discuss the facts of the case or what defenses the city would put forward.

“What I can tell you is the city is committed to finding a resolution to this litigation, as we are to all litigation, and we are trying to do it in a way that is a win-win for everybody,” he said.

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“We don't agree with the allegations regarding our conduct or with the allegations of no access to her property,” he continued. “At this point in time, we're not focusing on the disputes. We're focusing on what we agree on so we can move this forward to resolution.”

Hieatt said the complaint filed on behalf of Jaimes-Freyre lays out the basic timeline but “obviously, that's only one side.”

An issue of access

Jaimes-Freyre's son, Jan Kalicki, said the problem began two years ago when the city reconstructed a parking lot at Grover Heights Park that adjoins his mother's home.

Jaimes-Freyre, who is now 86, “collapsed physically” in December 2005 and was hospitalized, said Kalicki, who lives in the Bay Area and on the East Coast.

In January 2006, when he went to check on her home at 1011-A Atlantic City Ave., the city asked him to move her car.

“They said nothing about the project they had planned,” he said.

The next month when he visited the home, as his mother was being moved to an assisted living facility in Morro Bay, he discovered a city contractor had torn up the parking lot and left “a huge mound of earth and concrete” in front of the garage and gate.

“There was no way to get in,” he said, noting vehicle access to the garage was completely blocked and the only way to get into the house was a “dangerous process” of climbing over “a mountain of earth.”

Kalicki said the garage and gate are accessed from the parking lot via an easement granted the previous owners in 1982 by Lucia Mar Unified School District, which owns the park property but leases it to the city.

He said he had already contacted a real estate agent about listing the property for sale so his mother could use the proceeds to pay the costs of the assisted living facility.

But with access to the property blocked, that listing was placed on hold, he said, so he contacted the city about restoring access.

“The city said we had to document we had access in the first place,” Kalicki said, which required hiring Ogden to prove the easement was listed on the deed to the property.

Until the project was completed in June 2006, Kalicki said, he had to contact the city to get permission every time he wanted to enter the house to remove Jaimes-Freyre's belongings.

When the project was completed and the earth and concrete removed, Kalicki said he found another problem. The new parking lot was nearly two feet lower than the previous lot and the level of his mother's property.

There was no way to access the garage, and concrete parking blocks had been bolted to the parking lot along the property line, further restricting access, he said.

Ogden met with representatives of the city and Lucia Mar that fall, and Kalicki said the city indicated it would restore access. But nothing was done, he said, so Lucia Mar eventually installed a temporary concrete ramp to allow vehicle access to the garage.

“The school district has been very helpful,” Kalicki added, but he noted the ramp is too steep and inadequate as a permanent access.

In the meantime, he said, the house remained unsaleable as property values plunged, and the home fell into some disrepair.

“In my mind, it's really just callous behavior on the part of the city and the representatives of the city,” Kalicki said. “A key point is the city didn't consult with us in advance about the project; they didn't talk to us, they just did it.”

He added, “I'm totally disgusted they haven't fixed this two years later, and they've given no explanation of why they're not doing it.”

Suing the city

With no resolution of the access problem, Ogden filed a lawsuit against the city in May 2007, asking for the situation to be rectified as well as compensation for lost revenue.

“We're seeking compensation for a couple of things,” Ogden said. “The vertical cut (along the property line) has to be fixed, otherwise there's going to be erosion. And the parking stops have to be removed. We want a proper approach, a driveway from the garage to the parking lot.

“She was under contract to sell the home in February 2006, and as you know, the value of real estate has dropped considerably,” he continued, noting a recent assessment indicated a drop of $125,000 to $150,000 in the home's value. “We're trying to get some of that back.”

Kalicki said the city rejected previous offers to settle the case, but Ogden said he planned to make yet another offer this week, possibly Tuesday, now that Hieatt is representing the city.

“Jay has been very reasonable since he's gotten involved, which is what I expected,” Ogden said, adding he hoped to have the case go to mediation soon.

If no resolution can be reached, he said, the suit will probably be set for trial sometime this year.

Hieatt said he hadn't seen Odgen's presentation to the City Council, so he couldn't comment on that, but he said he also hopes to reach a resolution of the issue.

“The best thing you could do is to help these people get this property sold,” Hieatt told a reporter. “The best thing that could happen is for somebody to read in the paper the property is for sale and to step up and buy it.”

Kalicki also wants the home sold, but he worries about how the lack of adequate access will affect the property's value and can't understand the city's attitude.

“I just don't see why they need to take over two years from the life of an old person who has been a taxpayer from year one,” he said.

February 6, 2008