SAFE HOUSE UNDER FIRE

Neighbors Wary After Alleged Rape Attempt.

Apart from the clutch of weathered-looking men sitting on the front stoop
furtively smoking cigarettes, there's little that distinguishes the small,
three-bedroom home on a residential street near Oak Park.

There's little indication that the home is at the center of a neighborhood
controversy.

The house is a "sober living center" where men needing a place free from
drugs or alcohol can live in Spartan conditions. The tenants have an 11 p.m.
curfew and are randomly tested for drugs or alcohol. The idea is to maintain
a low-key environment and give the men a home safe from temptation, said
Bobby Calandra, who runs the facility called Mission House.

Neighbors say that in the past they accepted the men and respected their
efforts to stay clean and sober. But in early September, when a tenant --
Jon Jordan, a 36-year-old parolee -- allegedly broke into a home nearby and
attempted to rape one of the young women living there, some of that
tolerance vanished.

"The guys are basically friendly, and clearly they seem to be getting sober.
I know they're trying to be good members of the community," said John Mohr,
who lives across the street from the home. "But as a property owner, I would
be happy to not have them here."

After Jordan was arrested, neighbors complained to the city that the
landlord was violating several zoning laws, cramming too many men into the
house and into a garage in the back. At one time, 17 men lived in the home,
which was meant for no more than nine, according to city zoning enforcement
files.

The house takes in all kinds, Calandra said. A few of the men have been
assigned there by the courts; one or two are on probation or parole. Some
come in for other reasons, and they all bunk up for a few months paying $100
a week. Although the facility is not licensed or regulated by any state or
local agency, it gets many referrals from authorities looking for beds where
they can send people during their attempts to get off alcohol or drugs.

The property is owned by David Karpeles and leased to Calandra. Karpeles,
who owns the Karpeles Manuscript Library in Santa Barbara and was once one
of the largest rental property owners in town, now owns about 60 properties
in the city, according to county property records.

The home near Oak Park has a history of other violations that date back to
the early 1990s, long before Calandra took over the lease. When he moved in,
he cleaned up the home, Calandra said.

And since the code enforcement office inspected the home, Calandra has tried
to correct the violations quickly, moving men out of the garage and finding
them other homes, then clearing debris out of the back and fixing illegal
wiring. On one recent morning, a few of the men living at the home worked to
clean up debris in the back yard that had been piled up by a fence for years.

Listening to Stevie Wonder's "Songs from the Key of Life" and helping with
the cleanup, John Pulaski, his arms and neck covered with tattoos, said all
the men were upset about what seems to have happened with Jordan.

The hard part for Calandra has been trying to reassure the neighbors about
the operation.

"It's a shame because everybody that lives here is getting a bad rap," said
Calandra, who opened the facility about six months ago. "We had a house
meeting, and there's this ripple of fear in the house now, but we're not
responsible for this guy's actions."

Jordan had been kicked out of the home for drinking, then allowed to return
for a few days before the management and others in the home decided he must
go, Calandra said .

"God, I wish I had known he was such a problem. I would have never let him
in," he said. "When we told him that he wasn't making it, we had him pack up
his stuff."

Jordan, who is being held at the Santa Barbara County Jail, is set to have a
preliminary hearing this week. But beyond the issue with Jordan, neighbors
are continuing to ask questions about the operation. Calandra has another
week to clear up the zoning violations.