Tenants displaced after utilities removed; owner arrest reported

Staff told the board that because the meter had been pulled and water was absent, everyone on the property was asked to vacate and the property was placed under temporary condemnation pending board action.

Miss Torrey said police reported the owner, referred to in testimony as Miss Meadows, had been arrested during the dispute; she also said one tenant in the ADU had been paying the water bill and that tenants downstairs were not paying rent, according to police information. Torrey said she told occupants they could return briefly to retrieve belongings but that continued habitation would be unsafe.

Board members raised questions about who has a legal claim to remain on the property if the condemnation is later lifted; a commissioner said that without formal leases verbal occupancy likely does not create tenancy rights. Torrey estimated one tenant had been there about a year and others for a few months but said exact occupancy counts were not known. The board approved permanent condemnation and asked staff to re‑inspect and return by Sept. 9.