Novato’s City Council has shut down an appeal by the owner of the Romar Court Apartments, keeping the 14-unit building at 6 Romar Court red-tagged and vacant while ordered repairs move ahead. City inspectors reported widespread problems, including mold, dry rot and unfinished structural work, which they said created an immediate threat to residents’ health and safety. With a unanimous vote, the council left displaced families in temporary housing and put the burden squarely on the owner to fix the property or face city enforcement.
At its meeting on Tuesday, the council voted unanimously to uphold an appeals-board order requiring the owner to vacate and repair the building, according to the Marin Independent Journal. The owner, listed as Romar Court Apartments LLC, had appealed after the appeals board affirmed the city’s orders earlier this year.
The building was first red-tagged by Novato’s Code Enforcement Division in April after an inspection found unsafe conditions, and tenants were told to vacate within days, the City of Novato said in an April notice. Local television coverage highlighted black mold, expired permits and unfinished carport work that compromised the structure’s safety and set the stage for the city’s emergency action, as reported by KGO/ABC7…