He refused to sign.
McBride, according to Alisa Shepard, then asked if the couple had received their civil citations yet. The city, according to the Shepards, had cited about 35 code violations at Canyon Square, even though Rental Renaissance team members knew some violations were being addressed.
Todd H. Lillard
City officials spent thousands of dollars to crack down on Canyon Square Apartments and Sundowner Apartments.
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"It became clear to me there was a different agenda here," Alisa Shepard says. "This was all about getting money out of us. They were sabotaging our efforts [to make repairs]."
Pepper became leery once the city issued citations, according to Steve Shepard, and he declined to put any more money into the property at that time.
The relationship between Ontologics and the city was deteriorating rapidly. As it dissolved, the Shepards heard more confounding statements from Rental Renaissance team members.
At a Westwood Community Association meeting, Alisa Shepard says, McBride made a public announcement that the city's goal was to make every property owner in Westwood sign a settlement agreement.
"She said, '. . . either voluntarily or through court,'" Alisa Shepard says. "It was clear to me they were out to bully everyone."
By July, tensions over Canyon Square had resulted in an impasse, according to the city.
"They hadn't done a damn thing," Gordon says.
Residents began to complain about the complex, Gordon says. The Slumlord Task Force placed the complex on its updated list of the worst rental properties in Phoenix. Someone leaked to the press that one of the principal owners was the mayor of Beverly Hills.
The city geared up for another raid. Boling, deputy director of Neighborhood Coordination, says the action was inevitable.
"At some point, we have to say, 'They're not going to cooperate with us,' [and] we need to move to the next step," he says. "Our next step was our coordinated code enforcement activity."
On September 14, 2000, the city entered Canyon Square.
Armed with search warrants, nearly 100 inspectors and law enforcement officers scoured the complex. More than 900 citations were written.
The media had a field day. A newspaper columnist crafted a song berating Vicki Reynolds to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies television show theme song. Gordon lambasted the out-of-state owners, saying he was ashamed of them. He and Neill appeared together on news reports, talking about how terrible conditions were at Canyon Square.
Two months later, the city filed its citations in court. All told, Ontologics and Canyon Square Associates, the two companies listed as being responsible for the property, faced about $2.3 million in fines.
The raid was viewed as a success. Gordon got his headlines. The apartment complex was shut down. A new owner has since bought the property, and is making repairs.
But the well-planned, highly publicized effort by the Rental Renaissance team, like so many other attempts in Westwood, accomplished significantly less than what was publicized.
On November 7, 2001, with little fanfare or media coverage, the city closed its case with Ontologics LLC and Shepard. A separate case is still pending against Canyon Square Associates, whose majority owners were Reynolds and Pepper.
Shepard is not allowed to discuss the plea agreement, but court records detail the terms of the deal, and it can only be viewed as a failure on the city's part.
There is the money to assist construction of the Marc Atkinson Community Center. The public apology to Neill's Westwood Community Association. The agreement from Shepard not to be involved with rental properties anywhere in Arizona. And the documents he must turn over.
The $20,000 that the city did get for its trouble will go to the same project that Sundowner Investors refused to contribute to in 1997.
The community center, dreamed up by Neill to honor Atkinson, a Phoenix police officer slain while pursuing suspected drug dealers, was supposed to begin construction in October. The groundbreaking has yet to occur despite more than $31,161 in donations raised by Neill since 1999.
Ontologics attorney Robert Jarvis says his clients agreed to the payment only if the money did not go directly to Neill's organization.
"It was paid to the park [through] a financial institution to ensure as best we could that the funds would be used for the community," Jarvis says.
The city remains undeterred.
According to Gordon, who was interviewed before the plea agreement with Shepard was finalized, the enforcement effort will continue in Westwood.
He says the city has acted appropriately during the past four years and that it has been successful in its goal.
"These problems don't stay localized," Gordon says. "If there's a cancer, just like in a body, it's going to spread. If you arrest the cancer, it won't spread to the healthy parts of the city."
That's why the city remains vigilant, he says, and apparently why the Rental Renaissance team remains intact.
