Neighbors pressure sex offender to move Neighbors pressure sex offender to move (September 10, 2004)

Short stay marked by fear and declining property values

By David Herbert

Hector Chavez, Mountain View's only high-risk sex offender, will soon be evicted from his condominium at 2047 Montecito Ave., a move that residents of the complex have lobbied for since his arrival.

Chet Chan, the owner of the condominium that Chavez is currently renting on a monthly basis, served him with an eviction notice last week, ordering him out of the unit by Sept. 30, according to Nancy Bernard, president of the complex's homeowners association. The move was triggered by pressure from other tenants in the building, she said.

Chavez, who relocated to Mountain View from San Jose in August, initially told Chan he would fight to stay at the residence, said Bernard, but later told the Voice that he would leave.

"I'm going to move," he said, adding that he was not sure whether he would stay in the city. Megan's Law, a state law that allows for public notification of sex offenders' residences, also prohibits employment and housing discrimination against them.

Chan's decision to stop renting Chavez the condominium, one of two he leases in the 35-unit complex, capped off an emotional month for residents of the building. About a month ago, police went door-to-door on the 2000 block of Montecito Ave. and surrounding streets to notify residents that Chavez, convicted of sexual assault in 1979 and 1989, had moved into the neighborhood. In the weeks that followed, residents of 2047 Montecito Ave., a third of whom are single women, were racked with fear.

"There have been security meetings where three women were so scared they were near tears," Bernard said. "They are asking for volunteers to walk them to their cars at night."

Yet despite the fears of some residents, Bernard added that many in the complex became less worried when they learned that Chavez had been out of prison for nearly a decade without incident, that he was cooperating with law enforcement and that Mountain View police had significantly increased their patrol in the neighborhood.

But all residents were concerned, Bernard said, about the effect Chavez was having on home values in the area. Real estate agents reported to her that potential home-buyers were entirely avoiding the area around his residence, a trend that threatened to cripple housing prices and leave his neighbors -- for many of whom the condominiums represent their sole asset -- financially damaged.

It became a problem for a real estate agent in the area, who did not want to be named. "The sex offender issue came up, and I disclosed that information to the buyer. After hearing that -- they're a family with a little child, a 4-year-old girl -- they felt in the back of their mind, there was going to be a sex offender around.

"Because of that, I lost my buyer and I couldn't sell my townhouse," he said, adding that he expects it won't be difficult to sell it to a family with no children or a single male.

In an effort to avoid this predicament in the future, Bernard said, the condominium complex is altering its by-laws to require background checks on incoming residents.

Looking back on the last month, Bernard said she wondered if the police notification had served a purpose other than to frighten citizens and lower property values.

"The blame for this situation rests with [Megan's Law]," she said. "If Mr. Chavez has served his time and stayed clean for nine years, is it justice to subject him to continual harassment? If Chavez is clear and present danger, why is he on the street?"

Chavez, however, said he felt indifferent towards the law.

"It makes no difference what I feel," he said. "I don't really care. The law's the law."

E-mail David Herbert at editor@mv-voice.com

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