The city of Santa Maria and a Santa Barbara-based landlord accused of operating substandard housing have reached a settlement agreement that calls for continuing renovations at three of the most rundown properties, and reimbursing the city for costs associated with the case.
City Council members agreed to the parameters of the lawsuit settlement last month, but the terms of the agreement were spelled out in the agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting when they expect to approve the deal. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers and the agreement is on the consent calendar among items set for approval without further discussion.
Santa Maria filed the Santa Barbara County Superior Court civil lawsuit in October 2017 citing the condition of Santa Maria properties belonging to Dario Pini, Deanna Pini and DP Investments. Those properties included 386 apartment units, 95 boardinghouse units, and 30 mobile home or RV spaces.
The city filed the legal action after inspections identified more than 4,000 fire, building and code compliance violations such as plumbing leaks, electrical hazards, cockroach and bedbug infestations, structural hazards, and dilapidated laundry rooms and common areas. The original lawsuit cited 10 properties, but the settlement covers nine locations.
The Santa Maria lawsuit alleging unlawful and unfair business practices and seeking abatement of public nuisance was similar to the action take by the city of Santa Barbara against several of Pini’s properties there.
In a staff report to the Santa Maria council, Assistant City Attorney Jeffrey Patrick said the the lawsuit sought to ensure the properties were repaired, shift the burden for city costs onto Pini, and obtain reimbursement for legal costs.
“The proposed settlement framework largely accomplishes the city’s litigation goals,” Patrick said in the staff report. “It also includes additional safeguards that could not have been granted by the court.”
Pini has agreed to relinquish management responsibilities for the Vineyard Apartments through the rehabilitation process and for a three-year period after the final inspection of the last unit to be brought into compliance.
Pini also agreed to the appointment of retired Superior Court judge Frank Ochoa as a compliance monitor to oversee completion of the rehabilitation work for the three properties in receivership which are:
» Vineyard Apartments at 929, 945, 953 and 1009 E. Jones St. and 720 S. Concepcion Ave., where more than 2,000 violations were noted during city inspections.
» Woodhaven Apartments, 1425 N. Miller St., which had some 800 violations.
» SM Cottages, a renovated motel at 1311 N. Broadway.
Ochoa, who was appointed by Judge Timothy Staffel in October 2018 to serve as a referee in the case, also will monitor Pini’s operation and maintenance of the other properties not in receivership.
On Monday, Pini’s attorney Paul Burns said the settlement was possible “through the joint good faith efforts” of Pini and the city’s representatives.
“I must compliment the city on their approach to these lawsuits; the city of Santa Maria did not pursue any political agenda or seek to make a point of punishing Mr. Pini,” Burns said. “The city acted assertively to get all building code violations abated and Mr. Pini stepped up to the challenge and fully abated seven of the 10 properties involved in the suit.
“Mr. Pini has commenced work on final abatement of all violations in the remaining three buildings,” Burns added.
Pini will hire Sandpiper Property Management, or another fee-based manager acceptable to the city, to handle maintenance requests and repairs at Vineyard Apartments for three years.
The city of Carpinteria appointed Sandpiper to do similar work for a 30-unit apartment complex owned by Pini, Santa Maria’s attorney said. Sandpiper also manages an apartment complex, without any code compliance complaints, on East Main Street in Santa Maria.
The pact also calls for Pini to pay $336,000, which includes $81,000 covering city staff inspections, $10,000 for fines, $100,000 for future city staff time in completing work at the three properties, and $150,000 to pay for the special attorney, Eric Beatty of Upland, hired to help prosecute the case.
“This is good for taxpayers because the settlement recoups the city’s costs to date and it also contains funds for the city’s costs going forward,” city spokesman Mark van de Kamp said.
Pini also agreed to pay fees, costs and expenses to the receiver, Dean Pucci.
Burns said Pucci charged a rate between $10,000 and $15,000 a month for roughly 200 units, which he alleged is one-sixth the amount charged for the receiver in the city of Santa Barbara’s code violation case against Pini.
“By not wiping out the rental income every month, Mr. Pucci allowed for cash flow from rent to be used for construction and abatement of violations,” Burns said.
Other Pini-owned properties in Santa Maria not taken into receivership but cited for various violations were Twin Palms Apartments, 311 and 319 E. Bunny Ave.; West Alvin Apartments at 619, 620, 702 and 706 W. Alvin Ave.; Parkside Apartments, 723 S. Curryer St.; East Tunnell Apartments, 200 E. Tunnell St.; Santa Maria RV Park, 1335 N. Broadway; and Laz-E-Daze Boardinghouses, also known as Paseo del Sol, in the 1300 block of North Broadway.
Pini has completed the rehabilitation of the Twin Palms, West Alvin, East Tunnell and Santa Maria RV park properties along with abating conditions identified during the inspections, according to the City Council’s staff report.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.