ILLEGAL HOUSING INSIDE GARAGES SOARS IN REGION MORE PEOPLE SHARE HIGH-PRICE RENTS.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- The number of illegal conversions of household garages into living space is on track to more than double this year, and officials say that near-record housing prices could be to blame.

Code enforcement officers wrote 75 violations during the first half of the year, as many as in all of 2006.

``Sometimes people with large families come in, (and the garage becomes) the spare room for children,'' said Curtis Williams, the city's supervising community preservation officer. ``That's the part that makes us cringe. It would be a heart-wrenching story if something were to happen to the children because they're in the garage.

Neighbors' complaints have tipped officers to many illegal conversions, concentrated in east Newhall and Canyon Country.

Williams said high housing prices probably are a cause. The typical house or family condo in the Santa Clarita Valley rents for about $2,200 a month.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which helps low-income people with housing issues, considers it a burden for a household to spend more than 30 percent of household income on housing.

Two or three families sometimes share a home, and 12 to 16 people might cram into an apartment, with some sleeping in an uninsulated garage or in a car parked out front. Propane hookups fuel makeshift kitchens, and errant wires connect air coolers or heaters.

Many who receive help from the Los Angeles County Department of Community and Senior Services in Newhall have only limited incomes, and nearly three-quarters are illegal immigrants, said Helene Schuman, a community services caseworker.

``Many of them have several children. Many women are single mothers, and I think a lot of the families are living in the garage -- if they're lucky enough to have the space in the garage,'' she said. ``Even though it is illegal, it is a roof over their heads.''

But household garages are not fire safety-rated for human occupants, and sleeping next to a water heater, washer or dryer poses a hazard, Williams said.

County Fire Department spokesman Jason Hurt recalled a fire in a converted garage in the San Gabriel Valley a few years ago in which a 4-year-old girl died.

``(She) hid in a corner of the garage that had been converted and made it very difficult to locate her,'' said Hurd, whose turf also includes Santa Clarita.

Williams has seen layouts resembling dorm rooms, with three sleeping areas and a bathroom outfitted with a shower, sink and toilet.

Two city codes deal with legal conversions. The city's Building and Safety Department issues permits for installing showers, toilets and sinks, popular for hand washing and laundry. Installing showers and toilets requires a sewer connection, which can complicate the permit process, Williams said.

Tip-offs to overcrowding include many vehicles routinely parked nearby, excessive trash piles and a garage door that has been replaced with a household door.

City codes prevent the dividing of a standard, two-car, 20-by-20-foot garage with walls. With proper permits, space for a third car in a three-car garage could be walled off for some uses, but housing is not among them.

Some people have illegally converted tandem parking spaces in apartment garages that have no water or sewer connections.

Williams says the mix of garage dwellers is evenly split between family members and renters, and homeowners are generally cooperative about finding other lodging for relatives or evicting tenants.

Property owners can be cited for a variety of reasons, such as creating a public nuisance, violating parking laws or for causing construction and electrical wiring irregularities.

They are told to vacate the garage immediately, and a city inspector follows up. If the problem is not corrected by the third citation, the case can be referred to the City Attorney's Office for prosecution. Fines range from $100 for the first notice to $500 for the final one.

Overcrowded quarters are another problem, with as many as 50 people crammed into a single-family home. Such cases have been reported to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Williams said. Statewide, more than 15 percent of California households are overcrowded, with overcrowding most common among low-income households and most prevalent in rental housing, according to a 2000 Census report.