CLEARLAKE, Calif. – With the March death of a Clearlake man and his pets suspected to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning in a substandard rental, city officials launched an investigation that led to the issuance of notices of violation and citations to the owners of more than 20 properties.
The Clearlake Police Department reported that Douglas Wood, 49, Clearlake, along with his four dogs was found dead in his Pearl Street home last month.
The investigation into Wood’s death involved city and county officials and eventually led them to inspect conditions in other rentals, which resulted in the citations and violation notices.
Police said that at 9:15 p.m. March 20 Clearlake Police officers responded to a possible death investigation located in the 3700 block of Pearl Street. Officers located a deceased male adult, later identified as Wood, inside the residence along with four deceased canines.
The Clearlake Police Investigations Bureau responded along with the Lake County Fire Protection District, which conducted sampling of the air for hazardous substances. None were detected at the time, police said.
Lake County Environmental Health also responded and conducted additional testing of the air inside and outside the residence. Police said there were no significant hazardous substances detected.
The police report said Wood’s residence was a rental and did not have a required heat source, carbon monoxide detectors or maintained smoke detectors. It appeared a propane heater was operated inside the residence to serve as a source of heat.
Based on the toxicology reports from Wood’s autopsy, carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected as the cause of death, police said.
Officials inspect rental properties, find violations
Last week, Clearlake Code Enforcement and police investigations personnel attempted contact at more than 20 properties owned and/or affiliated with the landlord of the Pearl Street property, police said.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White said the agency wasn’t releasing the names of the property owners or the landlord at this time.
He said the properties were held by a number of different limited liability corporations, but there was one person in common behind those various LLCs.
White said in all of the property inspections city officials completed, the tenants invited them in, and the tenants expressed their gratitude that someone was there to help, as they weren’t getting traction with their respective property owners.
With White noting that tenant safety is a top priority, the inspection process discovered that multiple properties lacked required smoke detectors and had other conditions constituting substandard housing, including not having required heating sources.
Regarding the fine amounts, White said the majority of the individual offenses were $100 each, as they were first-time violations. One was $500.
He said if second citations were to be issued, the fine amounts could go up dramatically.
If the properties were to be red-tagged, the owners would have to pay for the relocation of the tenants, White said.
He said several of the properties are in such bad shape that they were on the border of being red-tagged, with some having issues – like garbage accumulation – that tenants were responsible for.
However, overall, “These main safety violations are absolutely landlord responsibilities,” he said.
Watching out for tenants
Not wanting to punish the tenants who were not well off, White said his agency partnered with Lake County Fire Protection District to immediately distribute smoke detectors to the renters who did not have them until the property owner corrected the violations.
The owners of the residences were then served with violation notices and several administrative citations, police said.
The police department said landlords are required to ensure properties they rent comply with the law and are maintained so as not to be considered substandard housing.
White explained that the city of Clearlake’s administrative citation process, which was revamped a few months ago, doesn’t send administrative citations or notices of violation to the Clearlake City Council as a rule.
City Clerk Melissa Swanson added, “Normally administrative citations and notices of violations aren’t on the agenda unless they are appealed or they go to council for confirmation of assessments.”
White said the administrative citation process “is really a key part” of the actions being taken now, as it motivates property owners to make the required fixes by giving them 21 days to do it.
If they fail to comply within that time frame, White said they accumulate late fee penalties.
In bigger cities, White said penalties can be attached to properties and because the owners don’t want dirty titles, they usually will comply quickly. In Lake County, however, the owners in such cases haven’t cared, he added.
The city of Clearlake now has a new tool to get compliance: White said it is participating in the Franchise Tax Board’s Intercept Program. That means that if a property owner is expecting a refund on their tax return, that money will be rerouted to the city to pay the penalties.
“It’s a pretty significant change,” White said.
White said the city, at one point, was doing rental inspections, which it stopped several years ago due to limited resources.
In more urban areas, there are organizations looking out for tenants rights, and White said he is concerned about individuals being exploited by landlords and out-of-town owners.
“With limited staffing and limited resources, how do we address this?” he said.
White said the city plans to look for answers to that question and what resources they can use to protect tenants, including reinstating the process of rental inspections.
He said so far they have no leads on other rentals with serious safety issues. However, if a tenant is having issues and their landlord isn’t responding, White encourages them to call Clearlake Code Enforcement, a division of the Clearlake Police Department, at 707-994-8251.
White also urges people to check the following link that provides information about landlord and tenant responsibilities: https://bit.ly/2uOq6Md .
The case involving Wood’s death remains under investigation. If you have information relative to this investigation, please contact Det. Sgt. Martin Snyder at 707-994-8251, Extension 306.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Suspected carbon monoxide death leads to substandard housing investigation, violation notices
- Elizabeth Larson
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