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<br /> <br />Background of 112 Vera Property and Impact of this proposed development on the nearby <br />neighbors. <br /> <br /> <br />• The property has been vacant for over three decades (since 1992) <br />o April 3, 2017 Redwood City declared the property a public nuisance, citing <br />concerns of fires occurring in the abandoned apartments due to the deteriorated <br />state of the apartments. Firefighters, health officials and police officers all <br />became regular visitors to the complex, dispelling any squatters from the five <br />duplexes. Building inspectors reported caved-in ceilings, human waste, empty <br />beer bottles, stacks upon stacks of newspapers, old tool boxes, chainsaws and <br />broken windows. <br />o In 2017, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported that the developer faced code <br />violations for dilapidation and that the city would demolish them. The Estate of <br />Robert J. Galet is still listed as the property owner. <br />o The property owner Galet had the structures demolished in 2019 and began <br />construction on 5 replacement duplexes in 2020. Construction was never <br />finished, and the site remains uninhabited. <br />o The city tried working with John Galet, 92, on fixing up the property, but he was <br />in a Roseville hospital at the time, public records show. <br /> Amr Higgy, 53, of San Mateo, heard about Galet’s situation and visited <br />him repeatedly in Roseville, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Higgy <br />convinced Galet to add him to the deed of the $4 million Vera Avenue <br />property, and a $1.7 million property on Eaton Street in San Carlos, the <br />DA said. But prosecutors found out, and a San Mateo County Superior <br />Court judge ended up voiding the transfer of the deed, public records <br />show. Higgy was charged with theft of an elderly adult. He pleaded guilty <br />to two misdemeanors in December 2020 and was sentenced to two years <br />of probation and 300 hours of community service, Chief Deputy District <br />Attorney Sean Gallagher said. <br /> <br />o This very same owner (Galet) who has left this property in dilapidated condition <br />is now asking to redevelop this property yet another time. This owner has not <br />been acting in the best interest of our neighborhood and we should not be <br />supporting this project given his past track record of starting and leaving projects <br />unfinished and in disrepair. <br />o How is the council sure they have the finances to complete this? What type of <br />quality materials will they be using? We have very low confidence that this <br />project will be done in a quality manner. <br />