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Resident group tells council Linton Gardens emergency pull‑cords are unmonitored and life‑threatening
Summary
A resident of Linton Gardens described repeated tests showing the facility’s resident call/ pull‑cord alarm system was not monitored and urged the council to act after a HUD inspection flagged life‑threatening deficiencies; he said residents were asked to sign releases of liability and that police and the county DA declined further action.
A Linton Gardens resident and five accompanying residents told the Palo Alto City Council on Sept. 15 that the assisted‑living pull‑cord alarm system at their property is not being monitored or responded to and that the failure creates a life‑threatening hazard for hundreds of older or vulnerable residents.
"I'm Peter Marling, and I live at Linton Gardens," he said during public comment, and he described conducting 16 tests over months where he said the alarm call system registered a red light but "there was no monitoring and absolutely no responding." He told the council he documented the tests with photographs and said the management company and property owners had asked residents to sign a release of liability "so that the owners and the property management company will be relieved of the burden of liability if we pull the alarm cord in our bathrooms and no one responds."
Marling said he and the residents he brought with him are among "over 400 elderly and vulnerable people who live at Linton Gardens." He said the issue was categorized as an "LT" (life‑threatening) deficiency during a HUD inspection earlier in the year and that HUD requires a 24‑hour correction timeframe for such a designation. "If they don't correct it within 24 hours, they fail the inspection," he told the council, and he urged the city to intervene to ensure 24‑7 monitoring and response.
Marling said he had pursued complaints with the Palo Alto Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office but that those offices had closed his case. He characterized the release‑of‑liability request as tantamount to elder financial fraud because it would relieve the management and owners from responsibility while residents remain at risk.
Council members did not take formal action during public comment. Staff did not provide an immediate operational response during the meeting; Marling's remarks remained in the public comment record. The issue involves HUD inspection findings, property management practices, and resident safety; any enforcement or city intervention would be governed by housing and public‑safety authorities and potentially HUD rules.
Ending: Marling asked the council to "follow the money" and press for enforcement to restore a functioning monitored emergency call system and to protect the safety of more than 400 residents at Linton Gardens.
