A Novato landlord and a Bay Area property manager were charged by the state Thursday on allegations of violating the California price-gouging law after a state of emergency was declared in the Tubbs fire in Sonoma and Napa counties last October.
Pamela Kelley, 55, a San Francisco-based real estate agent and property manager, and Richard Scott Parke, 57, who lives in both Marin County and Vietnam, were charged with three misdemeanor counts of price-gouging for allegedly listing Parke’s property at 6 Terry Circle in Novato for rent at a price that exceeded the 10 percent maximum allowed by the state’s price-gouging law, and one misdemeanor count of price-gouging for renting the home at a rate that exceeded the maximum.
Under the state price-gouging law, it is illegal for a landlord to raise rent more than 10 percent when a state of emergency has been declared.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a written statement that he filed the charges in Marin County Superior Court after a state Department of Justice investigation into a complaint referred by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. The four charges are on suspicion of violations to the price-gouging law that went into effect after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Oct. 9.
“Using emergency situations to squeeze money from consumers is a disgrace and will not be tolerated,” Becerra said in the statement. “Anyone who would exploit the fires ripping across our state to make a buck off the backs of Californians will be met with the full force of the law.
“During times of crisis,” Becerra said, “it is imperative that we support our neighbors and stop those who exploit others for personal gain.”
When contacted by phone, Kelley wouldn’t comment. Parke could not be reached for comment.
The property was offered for rent before the North Bay fires at $4,950 per month, according to Becerra. At that price, a 10 percent increase would be $495 — for a maximum legal rent of $5,445 per month.
Instead, the property was offered at various times at much higher levels in the days just after the emergency declaration, he said.
On Oct. 10, Becerra alleges, the property was offered for rent at $6,800 a month, well above the original price.
“A few minutes later, the rental price was hiked to $9,500 a month, nearly double the pre-emergency rental rate,” he said in the statement. “On Oct. 11, the property was listed for $7,500 a month, 37 percent above the legal limit. On Oct. 15, the property was listed and rented for $7,825 a month, more than 40 percent above the legal limit and almost $3,000 more than what it had been listed for just a week earlier.”
If Parke and Kelley are convicted, they could each face a potential one-year jail sentence and fines of up to $10,000 for each count. Theirs is the second price gouging case prosecuted in Marin County in the wake of the North Bay wildfires. The first Marin County case, also involving a Novato residence, was announced in April.
As of April, Sonoma County prosecutors had filed four criminal cases after receiving more than 220 complaints.
The October wildfires in Northern California killed 43 people and destroyed about 8,900 structures, including more than 5,600 structures in the Tubbs fire.
After buying the home, Working Dirt raised the Fetu’us’ rent steadily over the years, the family says. Their payments hit $4,374 in June — more than Fetu’u’s monthly mortgage when he owned the home.
The payments were difficult for the Fetu’u family, but they aren’t much higher than what other tenants are paying for similar properties in the city. A recent search on real estate website Zillow found three, three-bedroom, single-family homes available to rent in East Palo Alto, ranging in price from $3,200 to $4,100.
Fetu’u’s wife, 39-year-old Malina Fetu’u, got a job as a caregiver for disabled adults to help pay the bills. But the family continued to struggle.
“Sometimes at the end of the month, I only have 10 bucks in my account. And sometimes it’s minus,” said Malina Fetu’u, who the family calls Lina, as she wiped away tears.
East Palo Alto is one of a handful of Bay Area cities with strong rent-control rules that protect tenants from massive rent hikes. When the city’s rent-control ordinance went into effect in 1984, it applied to landlords who owned apartment buildings, as well as to landlords who owned five or more single-family homes, said Mayor Ruben Abrica. Nine years later the state enacted the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act, prohibiting cities from imposing rent control on single-family homes, and forcing East Palo Alto to roll back those protections.
A Novato landlord and a Bay Area property manager were charged by the state Thursday on allegations of violating the California price-gouging law after a state of emergency was declared in the Tubbs fire in Sonoma and Napa counties last October.
Pamela Kelley, 55, a San Francisco-based real estate agent and property manager, and Richard Scott Parke, 57, who lives in both Marin County and Vietnam, were charged with three misdemeanor counts of price-gouging for allegedly listing Parke’s property at 6 Terry Circle in Novato for rent at a price that exceeded the 10 percent maximum allowed by the state’s price-gouging law, and one misdemeanor count of price-gouging for renting the home at a rate that exceeded the maximum.
Under the state price-gouging law, it is illegal for a landlord to raise rent more than 10 percent when a state of emergency has been declared.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a written statement that he filed the charges in Marin County Superior Court after a state Department of Justice investigation into a complaint referred by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. The four charges are on suspicion of violations to the price-gouging law that went into effect after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Oct. 9.
“Using emergency situations to squeeze money from consumers is a disgrace and will not be tolerated,” Becerra said in the statement. “Anyone who would exploit the fires ripping across our state to make a buck off the backs of Californians will be met with the full force of the law.
“During times of crisis,” Becerra said, “it is imperative that we support our neighbors and stop those who exploit others for personal gain.”
When contacted by phone, Kelley wouldn’t comment. Parke could not be reached for comment.
The property was offered for rent before the North Bay fires at $4,950 per month, according to Becerra. At that price, a 10 percent increase would be $495 — for a maximum legal rent of $5,445 per month.
Instead, the property was offered at various times at much higher levels in the days just after the emergency declaration, he said.
On Oct. 10, Becerra alleges, the property was offered for rent at $6,800 a month, well above the original price.
“A few minutes later, the rental price was hiked to $9,500 a month, nearly double the pre-emergency rental rate,” he said in the statement. “On Oct. 11, the property was listed for $7,500 a month, 37 percent above the legal limit. On Oct. 15, the property was listed and rented for $7,825 a month, more than 40 percent above the legal limit and almost $3,000 more than what it had been listed for just a week earlier.”
If Parke and Kelley are convicted, they could each face a potential one-year jail sentence and fines of up to $10,000 for each count. Theirs is the second price gouging case prosecuted in Marin County in the wake of the North Bay wildfires. The first Marin County case, also involving a Novato residence, was announced in April.
As of April, Sonoma County prosecutors had filed four criminal cases after receiving more than 220 complaints.
The October wildfires in Northern California killed 43 people and destroyed about 8,900 structures, including more than 5,600 structures in the Tubbs fire.
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VALLEJO — Sherry Davis has lived all over Northern California, from a tree house in the Santa Cruz mountains during the 1970s, to a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco in the 80s and 90s, to a condo in Walnut Creek during the dotcom boom.
She never thought that winding road would lead her here — living out her retirement on the fringes of her beloved Bay Area community, far from her friends and fretting over the cost of simple pleasures, like her favorite brand of ginger ale.
“I kept following the cheaper rents,” Davis said from the porch of her Vallejo mobile home. “And I don’t want to go any further than this.”
Davis, who has worked and saved her whole life, might seem an unlikely victim of the Bay Area’s affordable housing shortage. She made a name for herself in the 90s when she landed a role announcing for the San Francisco Giants, becoming Major League Baseball’s first female public address announcer. She’s even featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as part of an exhibit about women in baseball.
But as rents rise to punishing heights throughout the region, even prominent residents like Davis are being pushed out of job hubs in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. These forced migrations are exacerbating the Bay Area’s traffic woes as people commute longer distances, and taking an emotional toll on those like Davis who find themselves with no choice but to leave their familiar surroundings.
“It’s a wakeup call to everyone,” Eduardo Torres, East Bay organizer with Tenants Together, said of Davis’ story. “Just because you’re successful at one point doesn’t mean you can’t be forced out of your home eventually. It’s very common.”
Sherry Davis, stadium announcer for the San Francisco Giants during their final years at Candlestick Park, relaxes in the garden at her home in Vallejo, Calif., Wednesday, July 25, 2018. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
A former actress who still can recite lines from one of her favorite theater roles — Alma in Tennessee Williams’ “Summer and Smoke” — Davis fell in love with baseball shortly after moving to the Bay Area from Newport News, Virginia in 1975. She drove across the country with a friend, and ended up living in a tree house in the redwoods of Ben Lomond, outside Santa Cruz. Five years later, she moved into a rent-controlled, studio apartment in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, paying about $400 a month. She spent her nights performing with a comedy troupe in the city, and her days working as a legal secretary. During her free Saturday and Sunday afternoons, she discovered Candlestick Park. It was Chili Davis’ rookie year, and Sherry Davis, who isn’t related to the ballplayer, relished yelling “Chili, get a hit!” in her booming announcer’s voice.
When the Giants announced open tryouts for an announcer in 1993, Davis, who had since left her comedy troupe and no longer acted regularly, showed up, mostly as an excuse to spend a beautiful day at the ballpark. She remembers seeing more than 500 people there to audition, but only eight women. When Davis got up and announced her two batters, the people listening applauded. She landed the job — and a place in history.
“I got a lot of wonderful letters from fathers of daughters, and young girls,” said Davis, who qualifies as a “senior,” but keeps her exact age a closely guarded secret. “It did my heart good.”
For the next six years, Davis worked out of a special booth next to the press box, announcing the starting lineups, batters, changes in players and final score of each game over the stadium’s public address system.
Sherry Davis announces a game between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves in 1999. (Photo by Richard Wisdom.) Richard Wisdom
In 1993, during Davis’ first year with the Giants, her mother died and left her a home in Virginia. When Davis sold the property, she moved to Walnut Creek and bought a one-bedroom condo for about $70,000, with a mortgage of roughly $800 a month. She was making about $5,000 a month as a legal secretary, on top of her work for the Giants. She declined to say how much the Giants paid her.
Davis’ luck started to turn in 1999, when the Giants declined to renew her contract and replaced her with another woman — radio personality Renel Brooks-Moon, who still holds the job. Davis continued working as a legal secretary, but in 2005, her car was broadsided by a taxi and she suffered a major concussion. The accident landed her on disability for two years, and unemployed without an income for another two. That’s when she lost her condo to foreclosure, and was forced to hunt for cheaper housing.
“It was really hard,” she said. “I was looking in Oakland a lot, but at that time you couldn’t find $800 apartments anywhere — or $900, or even $1000.”
San Francisco Giants player Barry Bonds waves to the crowd after hitting a home run in his first home at bat off Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Hammond during the second inning of their game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Ca., April 12, 1993. The game was the Giants’ home opener and the newly-acquired Bonds’ first regular season game at Candlestick Park — and it was Sherry Davis’ first game as the new Giants public address announcer. (AP Photo/Kristy MacDonald)
Davis started looking farther away, ultimately settling on a one-bedroom apartment in Concord for $800. “It was … passable,” Davis said, with a pause. The garbage disposal didn’t work, the kitchen drawers kept falling out, and the appliances were ancient — but it was a price she could afford.
Until it wasn’t. Davis’ rent rose nearly 70 percent in five years. Concord is one of many cities in the Bay Area without rent control, and the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment there has climbed 19 percent since May 2015, according to RentCafe.
Davis’ sole income is about $1,700 a month in Social Security payments — she burned through her retirement savings while she was unemployed after her 2005 car accident. When her rent hit $1,350 last year, Davis realized she’d have to pack up and move again, fleeing still farther from the center of the Bay Area.
“I was in the negative every month after it went up,” Davis said. “I was scrambling. I was not eating well.”
Davis isn’t the only one struggling, said Kristi Laughlin, campaign director for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, which advocates for affordable housing and tenant protections. Laughlin has heard from countless residents displaced by high housing costs, which she says leads to stress, isolation and health problems.
“There’s an epidemic,” she said. “I don’t understand why … cities aren’t doing something to deliver preventative care for this epidemic that is hurting families and making families and communities ill.”
Davis has been on waitlists for government subsidized, low-income senior housing for more than three years, with no luck. She found a place last year in Vallejo’s Carquinez Highlands, a peaceful mobile home park where tall, shady trees line winding roads dotted with quaint wooden street signs. Davis pays about $1,200 a month including water, sewage and garbage fees.
Sherry Davis’ cat, Chili (yes, that makes him Chili Davis), peeks out of the window of his home in Vallejo, Calif., Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Davis was the San Francisco Giants stadium announcer during their final years at Candlestick Park. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Davis likes her neighbors and loves her colorful garden. But it’s lonely and unfamiliar. There’s no Peet’s Coffee or Trader Joe’s, and she has yet to find a clique of fellow artists here. Her friends, who live in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Concord and San Mateo, have to endure long drives and at least one bridge toll to visit.
“Nobody wants to come out here,” Davis said, sighing heavily. “I don’t feel at home here, is the thing.”
All over the Bay Area, seniors are retiring into uncertainty, or uprooting their lives to find places they can afford, Laughlin said. It’s no longer just a problem of the poor, nor is it isolated to big cities.
“It’s very alarming,” Torres said. “People always think these issues with housing are just big city issues…but it’s happening in suburbs, too, like Concord. And that should be alarming to anyone.”
Davis knows she’s more fortunate than many because she has a decent place to live. Her housing trials and tribulations have given her a newfound empathy for everyone who isn’t so lucky.
“This has really taught me,” Davis said. “It’s been an eye-opener. I’m glad for the experience, but I’d like it to be over now, thank you very much.”
Perched on over seven acres of pristine Mill Valley land is this abode, a modern estate with soaring ceilings, views, and a $6 million price tag.
The house
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Caption
Close
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Almost 8 acres of private land in this modern Mill Valley estate, asking $6M
Photo: Open Homes Photography Via Joshua Deitch/Coldwell Banker
Built in 2006, this 4,079-square-foot home exhibits contemporary design in its arched, Half Dome-like angles.
There are five bedrooms and three full bathrooms.
The open floor plan blends living room, formal dining room, and kitchen. Walls of glass open onto decks and unobstructed views of the property, Mount Tamalpais, and beyond
The master bedroom offers a walk-in closet, swanky custom bath, and direct access to patio and pool.
The property
Angles, glass, and light are all impressive here, but the true star is the land. There are just shy of eight acres in what seems to be an almost exclusive location.
A large deck for outdoor dining gives onto a patio with pool, fireplace, an outdoor shower, trees, and tiered garden.
Local real estate agents Patrick Carlisle and Lamisse Droubi explain the cycles in the housing market and how it applies to the Bay Area.
Media: San Francisco Chronicle
The deal
In 2011, this home sold for $3.4 million. Upgraded since and brought to today’s market, the asking price today is $6 million.
All areas of Mill Valley with data from the last 30 days show a sale-to-list ratio of over 100 percent. We have little doubt 840 Edgewood Avenue will sell similarly.
We’d like to be invited to the house-warming party.
Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert
