Glendale officials place fault on Lydell owner after residents evacuate

Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said Cypress Bayshore Residential, the owner of The Lydell apartments, “should have waited” for clearance from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before moving residents into a newly constructed building where high levels of cancer-causing chemicals were found.

The North Shore Health Department on July 15 ordered the indefinite evacuation of six residents from their units at “Building 3” of The Lydell after testing found trichloroethylene (TCE) levels more than 10 times the acceptable limit deemed by DNR, health officials said. Property manager Lincoln Residential cut ties with Cypress five days later. The owner offered reimbursement checks worth $500 to people who had to be relocated.

The complex is currently under construction and testing turned up no actionable TCE levels in Buildings 2 and 4, Chris Maguire, president of the general partner of Cypress Bayshore Residential said in a statement. Cypress found no high TCE levels when it moved residents in, but on July 14 sent a warning to its residents about the contaminant.

According to emails between the DNR and consulting firm GZA Environmental reported Building 3 had 75% occupancy on June 12.

Cypress worked with the DNR because the building was constructed over a former landfill, Kennedy said. The owner had its occupancy permits from the city and moved people in before the agency could finish its indoor testing, he added.

“They were working with the state DNR on air quality testing. It is my opinion that they should have waited until they had clearance from the DNR. They stated in their release that the first two buildings had come back fine so they had no reason to think differently on the third building. However, they were building on the site of a former garbage landfill, so every building has to be tested separately,” Kennedy added.

Granting occupancy permits is based on the city’s review, which does not include air quality, Kennedy said. “Many buildings in the city never have to work with the DNR, so when we grant occupancy, they are ready to move in. This site is different,” he added.

On the decision to relocate residents, Maguire said Cypress “would never knowingly move residents into a residential unit with high levels of TCE.”

“We have been following the requirements and recommendations of the DNR and North Shore Health Department throughout the testing process,” he added.

GZA has “multiple lines” of evidence that TCE vapor from under the slab in Building 3 had stopped by using a depressurization system, Maguire said. Every occupied unit in Building 3 was offered an air purification unit and GZA had employed a chromatograph, which separates components from a mixture such as air.

The owner had worked with DNR and health officials each day and shared weekly testing with residents, Maguire added.

On June 20, property management firm Lincoln Residential, a property management company, terminated its contract with Cypress.

“Lincoln Residential was unaware of the presence of TCE or the testing requirements until a June visit from the health department. As a result, Lincoln Residential has terminated its agreement with (Cypress),” a spokesperson for the firm said.

The firm is working on a plan to help the owner find different housing for residents while a new management company transitions in, the spokesperson added.

Cypress offered reimbursement up to $500 to residents who wanted to terminate their lease and move out, Maguire said.