Popular Co-op Nursery School Battles Caltrans to Remain In Its Home of 31 Years

A popular Pasadena nursery school is locked in a battle with Caltrans over the house it has leased from them since 1985, following recent reports of the discovery of lead-based paint on the property in a recent inspection.

Now, as Caltrans prepares to sell its stock of homes near the former 710 Freeway extension route, Cottage Co-op Nursery School at 169 Arlington Drive in West Pasadena is facing the possibility of a substantially increased rent and a host of other problems which as left it struggling to renew its lease with the State agency, according to its director, Sahar Farmanesh.

The school was founded in 1972 as a non-profit, cooperative preschool by former Pacific Oaks parents. Farmanesh said Cottage Co-op signed a lease in 1985 for a house on Arlington Drive near Fair Oaks. Since then, she said, there were no major substantial changes in the lease, other than the normal 2% rental increase, the last one being in 2013.

According to the school’s mission statement, “Cottage Co-op Nursery School is an intimate community of families and teachers that embraces child-directed, creative play and nourishes our children’s curiosities that nurtures social and emotional development, teaching key conflict resolution skills, that depends on, and supports, active parent participation in our school and accepts and celebrates the uniqueness of us all.”

The property currently serves sixty two families and is run by a co-op board, made up of the children’s parents.

According to Farmanesh, Caltrans requested that the school close down its operations in December for at least a week for abatement and repainting, following the discovery of lead paint in October. Caltrans also unexpectedly demanded that the school evict a longtime subtenant, who helps manage the property and assists with school operations.

Caltrans said the inspections are supposed to be conducted annually, however, the inspections were the first on the property since 2012, according to Farmanesh, and said Farmanesh, they have only conducted very light inspections every few years.

In October, according to Farmanesh, Nerea Urgoiti, a Caltrans Associate Right of Way Agent and her supervisor, Edward Francis, visited and conducted a walk through of the entire property, while taking photographs. According to Farmanesh, it was the most thorough inspection she had witnessed during her time with the preschool. Following the inspection, an appraiser hired by Caltrans also conducted a walkthrough of the property. Soon after the appraisers’ visit, a Caltrans-hired contractor also visited the property to conduct lead testing.

This was the first such inspection in six years, and the first request ever that the property be painted, said Farmanesh.

Farmanesh said she was told that the necessary repairs to the property would take ten days. The school closed on December 16, and the work was not completed until January 11. According to Caltrans District 7 Media Relations and Public Affairs representative Lauren Wonder, the lower floor was completed on Tuesday, January 10, and the children returned to school on Wednesday, January 11.

However, during the painting and repairs, which occurred (and were delayed) during a rainy spell, both school and subtenant property were left out in the yard and most of the items were ruined, said Farmanesh.

The subtenant has since been evicted from the property, against the school’s wishes, and a sink and stove have been removed from the apartment area,

Asked about the necessity for the repairs and abatement, Wonder said, “During the annual inspection in October, we noticed that the wall needed painting because it was chipping. It was not chipping during previous inspections. Due to the age of the property and in the best interest of the children’s safety, Caltrans determined that it would be prudent to test the paint for lead and remediate. It is noted that non-residential tenants are required to maintain their own property.”

According to school records, Caltrans never tested the property for lead during previous inspections when the property was initially leased or during the last 30-plus years that the preschool has leased the property.

Responding to why inspections were not conducted on a regular basis, Wonder said, “The property was inspected in 2013 and 2016 due to workload issues.”

She added, “It is noted that non-residential tenants are required to maintain their own property.”

“We are conducting inspections and completing maintenance as we normally would regardless of the upcoming sales. The 2013 inspection results were satisfactory. It was only this year that inspectors noticed that the paint on the wall was chipping,” Wonder said.

Meanwhile, said Farmanesh, during the time the school was closed for the repairs, Agent Francis contacted CalFire and set up an inspection. CalFire then determined that the school was violating codes by hosting a subtenant on the property. A report from CalFire was emailed to Farmanesh by Francis, requesting corrections on the violations, and ordering that the subtenant vacate the property by January 12.

The notice was given to Farmanesh late in the afternoon on January 11, also stating that if the corrections were not made, the pre-school would be shut down immediately.

Farmanesh then contacted the office of State Senator Anthony Portantino. Portantino contacted Calfire and granted the school a 30-day extension on the correction notice, said Farmanesh.

Adding to the difficulties, said Farmanesh, was a call from Caltrans informing her that the property rent was to be increased to market rates. Without the income from the subtenant, and the increased rental cost, the little nursery school was in danger of closing its doors permanently.

Said Farmanesh, “I was originally told that our rent would go up to market value for a business rental. This meant that our $3300 monthly rent would be increased to $5500 or $6500 monthly. I then was told that this was put on hold due to the lead testing results and that we must go into immediate repair.”

According to Caltrans’ Wonder, “the tenancy terms for the property have expired.”

Wonder added, “We are discussing tenancy with the tenants, and we do not disclose these matters to the public.” However, Farmanesh said in an recent interview, “I haven’t heard anything about the lease directly. I’ve asked questions and they said they’re having internal discussions and they’ll get back to me.”

Asked if Caltrans would be helping the school with any loss of income suffered during its closure, Wonder said, “This is currently being discussed with the tenant. We do not disclose these matters to the public.”

Farmanesh told Pasadena Now, “I’ve asked once, and I was told the same thing, we’re having internal discussions and we’ll get back to you.”

The problems at the school caught the attention of Councilmember Steve Madison, by way of his field deputy Takako Suzuki.

Madison, immediately initiated a political chain reaction, contacting State Assemblymember Chris Holden, who contacted State Senator Anthony Portantino, whose field representative called Farmanesh and informed her that Portantino would be writing a letter to Caltrans on the pre-school’s behalf and taking the issue up with Caltrans personally.

Said Farmanesh, “The last information I received about our rent is that they would only raise the rent 2%, as it states in our expired lease, but everything is still on hold due to ‘internal discussions.’ Again, we have no clear answer from Caltrans as to what is happening.”

As of Feb. 23rd Francis informed Farmanesh that the nursery’s lease is still sitting on the desk of Andrew Nierenberg – Deputy District Director, Div. of Right of Way, District 7, along with numerous other leases.