Santa Rosa appeals board upholds notice to vacate for Bethlehem Tower unit after inspectors found severe infestation and safety hazards

The City of Santa Rosa Board of Building Regulation Appeals on Oct. 16, 2025 denied an appeal by tenant Sally Steinhardt and upheld staff’s May 22, 2025 notice to vacate for Unit 806 at Bethlehem Tower, a 14‑story, low‑income senior housing building at 801 Tupper Street. The board voted 4‑0 to deny the appeal.

City code enforcement staff documented recurring sanitation and infestation complaints for Unit 806 and presented inspection findings and an exterminator report that staff said showed a severe rodent, cockroach and fruit‑fly infestation and conditions that impeded safe access and egress. Cassidy Anderson, senior code enforcement officer for the City of Santa Rosa, told the board that inspections and photographs showed “rotting food,” rat droppings and narrow, obstructed walkways and that staff considered the unit a public nuisance and “legally uninhabitable.”

Anderson described the enforcement timeline to the board: a complaint was received in December 2024, staff attempted inspections in late December 2024 and conducted interior inspections in January and May 2025; a licensed exterminator’s report was provided to the city in February 2025 with…