> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Keeping up with Joneses - URL: https://www.smdp.com/keeping-up-with-joneses/ - Published: 2005-01-05T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:56:23.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Pico, #archive-import *Family of six forced out of Pico neighborhood homes they lived in for decades* PICO NEIGHBORHOOD — A family of six was sent packing from their home in this eastside Santa Monica neighborhood last fall after City Hall deemed it unlivable. Cecelia Jones and her family now live in a pair of hotel rooms at the Travelodge on Pico Boulevard. The rooms cost $1,278 a week, or quadruple the $287 in monthly rent the family paid for each of four one-bedroom bungalows on Delaware Avenue. The 1928 bungalows were fenced off last fall after health inspectors found them to be infested with termites, covered in mold, and suffering from unsanitary plumbing and dangerous electrical wiring. Landlord Ricco Ross convinced City Hall last month the units would be too expensive to repair or rebuild, and was granted permission to take the apartments off the market. Jones, 41, a teacher’s assistant at Santa Monica High School, grew up in the bungalows. Until last fall, she lived in one of the 450-square foot units with her husband and their two young children. In the other units were Jones’ grandmother, Helen Mayberry, 80, who moved onto the property more than 40 years ago, and Jones’ mother, Gloria Davis, 59. The family said they were given a 10-day notice to vacate the property last fall, barely enough time to gather all of their belongings. They blame Ross for the disrepair, saying he repeatedly promised to make repairs to the building after buying it in 2001, but did virtually nothing. “The main complaint was the plumbing,” Davis wrote in a Dec. 6 letter to City Hall. “Mr. Ross knew about this when he got the property... Nothing was done. Whenever I saw him, I would ask him about it, no response. I paid the rent on time. Then I was put out.” In a separate letter to City Hall, Jones said the property had been neglected by each of the four people who owned it in the many years her family had lived there. “The house has never been tented for termites,” she wrote. “When Mr. Ross wanted to contact me he would leave a note outside my door. For example, 7:00 a.m. in the morning he would want a 10:00 a.m. appointment. That was not adequate notice as I work every day and have two children. At one point our plumbing broke, leaving a flood of human waste in our back yard where our dog was. It was unsafe for anyone to go into the back yard. “The electrical wiring was bad,” Jones continued. “Promises were always made but nothing was ever done. Many times he came in and took pictures and promised to make repairs. However, nothing was ever done. Work was done on the corner house (instead)...” Ross claimed he repeatedly was denied access to the bungalows by the family, who he accused of hoarding trash and other items. “The fact is, the only way we could gain access to the units was by issuing the tenants with a legal, perform or quit letter drawn up by a lawyer... and once we did gain access it was obvious that it would be impossible to do any form of improvements due to the massive amounts of accumulate personal effects, reaching the ceiling in some instances,” he wrote in a Nov. 29 letter. Inspectors from City Hall’s building and safety department, the Santa Monica Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Health Services Department issued separate reports in August of this year, deeming the property dangerous and unhealthy. The reports said the overall deplorable condition of the buildings constituted a severe fire hazard, and ordered the bungalows be vacated. According to documents he filed with City Hall, Ross purchased the property, which also includes a three-bedroom house, for $405,000 in December of 2001, and has spent just $1,630 on repairs for the aging structures. Members of the Santa Monica Rent Control Board agreed on Dec. 9 to allow Ross to take the units off the market, after finding it would cost him as much as $415,000 to rebuild the bungalows. The cost of those improvements would be passed on to the renters, thereby raising rents as high as $1,150 per unit, according to the city’s appraisals. “The tenants were in a losing situation either way,” said Tracy Condon, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Rent Control Board. The higher rent is hundreds of dollars more than what comparable apartments in the Pico neighborhood command, according to city documents. Based on that discrepancy, the Rent Control Board deemed the rent “uncollectable.” Perry said Ross plans to demolish the aging bungalows and will likely sell the property. Meanwhile, Mayberry said the higher rent would have been manageable. “We would have paid that,” she said Tuesday. “If he would have raised the rent, that’s what he would have done. We would have paid it.” At issue now is how much, if any, relocation money the family will receive. Landlord attorney Rosario Perry said Ross already has spent $31,000 paying for the hotel and various other relocation expenses. Still, he said Ross would be willing to pay a little bit more. “The old thought is so true: Nice guys finish last,” Perry said. “The city’s position is no matter how nice you are, tenants always win.” Kenneth Jones, 45, married to Cecelia Jones for six years, said Ross had spent very little on helping the family, adding most of the hotel expenses were paid for with city vouchers. He said the family planned to meet with attorneys from City Hall today to discuss possible legal action. Any money they do receive, he added, would probably do little to help the family out of their predicament. “It’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Kenneth Jones, a janitor. “Anything we get, financially, will just go to pay expenses now... He just dumped us like a hot potato.” Legally, landlords can be responsible for paying two types of relocation money. The first is money for temporary housing and moving expenses, so repairs or other work can be done on a property. The second is a lump sum paid to tenants displaced when an apartment building is converted into condominiums or an owner takes over the unit for personal use. The lump sum amount for one-bedroom apartments currently is $5,500, plus $1,000 for seniors or renters with children. Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky said the dispute had been referred to his office, but declined to comment on any particulars surrounding the Delaware Avenue bungalows. “This office can’t comment on the facts,” he said. “We are investigating the entire situation to determine the applicability of the relocation law.” In the meantime, Cecelia Jones said her family will continue its search for suitable housing, though she acknowledged it was unlikely they would be able to stay in their native Santa Monica, where she works and her two young children attend Grant Elementary School. Asked how she and her family were coping with the uncertainty, Cecelia Jones responded, “We’re praying. I’ll say it like that. We’re praying.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/010505-01_01-8.jpg) A local family is looking for a place to live after being ordered out of their Pico neighborhood bungalows. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 5, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010505.pdf?ref=smdp.com)