Eminent domain foe dies mysteriously
Homicide unit investigating death of Lynn Gross on Poplar Street
By C.L. LOPEZ, Staff Writer
LOMA LINDA - Lynn Gross lived alone in the old wood-paneled house on
Poplar Street a street at the epicenter of the city's redevelopment
plans.
In the end, the woman who long resisted efforts to buy her property
died in the house neighbors say she seldom left.
About 3:15 p.m. Friday, a friend discovered the 54-year-old woman's
body inside of her 10800 Poplar St. home. After sheriff deputies
arrived, homicide investigators were called to the scene. An autopsy
will be performed to determine the cause of death, but San Bernardino
County sheriff's homicide unit is investigating her death.
Gross, a former nurse who lived in her house for more than two decades
became known to critics of the city's Redevelopment Agency's plans and
the possible use of eminent domain in residential areas.
When the city decided to add an asphalt sidewalk in front of her house,
Gross said she lost a few feet of her property and the city also
removed two live trees to complete the project. When the city removed
the two 30-foot-tall trees, she said she was left with a $2,800 bill
for the tree removals, fees she resisted paying. Her property,
surrounded by a chain linked fence, was filled with things she
collected. Beneath blue plastic tarps and carpets were a myriad of
items from wheelchairs to bicycles. code enforcement frequented the
neighborhood, clashing over what Gross called her "collection."
"I am just a pretty handy gal who likes to fix things," she said in a
March interview.
Her then neighbor, Derrick Cole, advised her in her dealings with code
enforcement.
Leland Lubinsky befriended Gross in recent years and the two discussed
her situation with the city. He said he spoke with her last week, days
before she was found dead.
"She seemed to be encouraged about development in her situation," he
said. "She had not given up her fight to keep her place."
City Clerk Pam Byrnes-O'Camb said it has been several months since she
spoke with Gross and spoke mainly with her parents, who owned the
property and lived in Florida. Gross' father died in February.
The house is flanked by property owned by the city's redevelopment
agency on both sides. Several houses have been purchase by the agency
or used for demolition.
Her death has left residents of Poplar Street stunned.
"It is as scary as hell," said Lisa Sheesley, who lives in one of the
handful of houses that remain on the block. "I have got two children,
but it (crime) is something you become numb to."
But even homicide in her Loma Linda neighborhood is not something
Sheesley expected.
"Loma Linda was a place that was never touched," she said. "But just
because you do not see it does not mean it is not there."
E-mail Staff Writer C.L. Lopez at Eminent
domain foe dies mysteriously
.
|
