The city of Palmdale has filed a complaint for nuisance abatement and receivership in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Palmdale Inn, 217 E. Palmdale Blvd., for a long list of health, safety and criminal violations. The city issued a Notice and Order to Repair or Abate about two months ago ordering the motel to repair more than 400 city and state building code violations within 30 days. The property owner(s) have reportedly failed to respond to many of these directives.
“The number and severity of violations forced the (County) Building Official to order temporary closure of the motel until the property is returned to a habitable condition,” said Noel Doran, Palmdale assistant city attorney. “The Palmdale Inn has failed to correct the numerous building code violations and the property remains uninhabitable and imminently dangerous. Public safety is our number one priority, and last year’s tragic fire in Oakland is a grim reminder of the consequences of leaving unaddressed serious code violations.”
Among the code violations are:
—Missing and inoperable smoke and carbon monoxide detectors;
— A non-functioning fire alarm system;
— Inadequate or blocked access routes;
— Absence of fire extinguishers;
— Non-functioning lavatories;
— Broken and/or inadequate ventilation systems;
— Severe accumulation of junk, trash and debris;
— Water damage to the ceiling and roof;
— A substandard and imminently dangerous second-floor walkway.
In addition to the building code violations, the Sheriff’s Department has responded to at least 50 incidences of unlawful drug activity and has made dozens of drug-related arrests since 2013 for the unlawful storage, keeping, selling and use of methaphetamine, morphine, cocaine and marijuana.
The complaint also noted the increased danger to the neighborhood caused by the presence of illicit drug users and dealers, in addition to the numerous other public nuisance conditions related to the use and sale of illegal drugs, such as increased crime including attempted murder, assault, domestic violence, robbery, vandalism and theft. The Palmdale Sheriff’s station last year reported hundreds of calls stemming from incidents occurring at the Palmdale Inn.
“The constant police attention demanded by this property significantly drains the city’s valuable police resources,” Doran continued. “The crime emanating from this location impacts not just the surrounding neighborhood, but also the entire community.”
