Politics & Government

City to Ask Sheriff to Halt Evictions Over Holidays

Action taken in response to calls from Occupy Petaluma, which is in discussions with some local banks about modifying home loans to prevent foreclosures

The Petaluma City Council will send a letter to Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas asking his office to not evict homeowners who have defaulted on payments and fallen into foreclosure during the holiday season.

The decision came out of comments made by Occupy Petaluma activists at Monday’s meeting, who said they would physically occupy yards of people at risk of losing their homes—if the homeowners agreed to it— to make sure they were not evicted during the holidays.

“We want to help our neighbors and keep them in our town," said Amy Hanks, a member of Occupy Petaluma, in a prepared statement read to the council. "Keeping families in their homes stabilizes property values, helps prevent the painful dissolution of families due to foreclosure and helps prevent a negative chain of events that can lead to a rise in dependence on public subsidies, homelessness and hopelessness.” 

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On Monday, the council also passed a resolution declaring a citywide moratorium on foreclosures through the holidays, a gesture that is symbolic in nature, since the council has no jurisdiction over mortgages made by banks.

According to RealtyTrac, an estimated 430 homes are currently in some state of foreclosure in Petaluma, with an average of 90 new homes entering foreclosure each month.

Find out what's happening in Petalumawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The actions by Occupy activists mirror those in other parts of the country where activists have attempted and ocassionally succeeded in delaying evictions by occupying homes as well as connecting residents to local resources. Assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure has become a key point in the social movement, which has often have criticized for lacking a specific agenda.

Meanwhile, Catholic Charities held a foreclosure prevention workshop last weekend in Petaluma and will hold another on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at from 7 to 9pm. Reservations are required and can be made at 575-0215.

Stay tuned as we update the story with comments from Sheriff Freitas.


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