DOWNEY – Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez was cited for unapproved occupancy earlier this year, after her son was found to be living in a storage room at Eden Roc Apartments.

According to code enforcement documents, officials received several complaints about a person sleeping in the apartment complex’s laundry room closet.

Upon inspection, officials found “a male of approximately 21 years old laying down on what appeared to be a bed made of two large plastic storage containers and a piece of wood,” as well as some blankets and pillows.

The report continues that the individual, identified as LennJhon Alvarez, stated that he “can’t live in his mother’s house in the apartments.”

Officials ordered him to remove his personal belongings, and returned two hours later to ensure that the space had been vacated.

A month later, a new complaint was brought to the code enforcement counter that the same person was once again living in the storage room, adding that they would discard used condoms and smoke marijuana in the small storage unit.

Upon return, officials once again found LennJhon inhabiting the space, with the same layout as before, and with several shoe boxes and bags of clothing.

LennJhon claimed that “his mom was in the living room with her dog and he was not allowed to stay in her apartment,” according to the report.

When confronted again with the issue, the report states that Alvarez responded by saying LennJhon was an adult and that she could not control him, adding that he had taken the key to the storage room from the house.

According to Downey Police Captain Leslie Murray, the matter was investigated by Downey Police Department and has been closed, as officials found no foundation to support allegations of neglect or endangerment.

Alvarez, LennJhon, and Eden Roc Apartment manager Andres Delgado were each issued citations.

The citations were first discovered by supporters of Alvarez’s recall effort.

Alvarez declined to respond directly to two Downey Patriot emails asking for comment, instead opting to release a statement of her own.

“My son is an adult, and adults don’t always consult with their parents about their living arrangements,” Alvarez wrote in her statement. “I reiterate, me and my children were homeless five times due to my hospitalization’s loss of work and so on and so forth, we didn’t always have a roof over our head. I ran on a platform to support tenants, landlords, and small business owners.

“I think your focusing on me and my families’ experience of being homeless is an intentional distraction from the real reason many Downey youth are homeless: the rents are too high, and my Council colleagues could lower those rents if they joined me in a vote. Why don’t you ask them why they don’t support those policies to help our community?”

Downey councilwoman cited after son found living in laundry room