Garden Grove Issues Arrest Warrants for 6 Slum Property Owners

Arrest warrants have been issued for six landlords who failed to repair their rundown buildings in Buena Clinton, a squalid Garden Grove neighborhood considered the worst slum in the county.

Two West Orange County Municipal Court judges issued the warrants, based on criminal complaints filed by Garden Grove, which is trying to crack down on building code violations in the blighted area, Deputy City Atty. William McName said Friday.

Maximum Penalties

“We’ve usually gone after landlords out there with civil lawsuits, with the threat of penalties . . . but this (criminal) approach seems to be the quickest way to get their attention, to let them know we mean business,” he explained.

This is the most ambitious such action taken by the city, which has been reluctant to file criminal complaints against landlords, believing the resulting trials would be too costly.

The owners could get up to six months in jail and be fined as much as $5,000 for each code violation if they are found guilty.

James R. Peters, a San Clemente resident who is one of the six landlords, Friday called the action precipitous. He said he is making a good-faith effort to repair his building.

City officials “blindsided” the property owners, he charged.

Garden Grove filed the complaints two weeks ago, citing conditions such as backed-up plumbing, rotting walls, rodent infestation, faulty electrical wiring, cracked balconies, stagnant water and uncollected garbage.

Municipal Judges Kenneth M. Smith and Patricia Manoukian signed arrest warrants for the six owners of buildings at 12571 and 12602 Keel Ave. and at 12702 Sunswept Ave., according to court records.

Thomas C. Drosman, the Newport Beach attorney that Garden Grove hired to supervise code enforcement in Buena Clinton, said Friday that the owners will receive letters asking them to a appear before a Municipal Court judge to post bail or to contact the Buena Clinton Task Force.

The task force, which includes members of the city attorney’s staff and the police and building departments, is attempting to get hundreds of code violations throughout the neighborhood corrected, Drosman added.

“Garden Grove has warned these owners repeatedly to correct the dangerous and unsafe living conditions in their buildings, but these warnings have not been heeded,” said Drosman.

“Now, hopefully, we may get some results. These cases may proceed through the full criminal process, or they may stop short of that, depending on the owners. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to clean up that neighborhood.”

‘Worst Buildings’

The Times has reported that many Buena Clinton property owners have neglected maintenance of the neighborhood’s 96 apartment houses since they were built in 1961.

Housing conditions in the largely Latino neighborhood have declined sharply in the past 10 years. The trash-littered community has a crime rate four times higher than the rest of Garden Grove; it also is home to more than 2,000 children under the age of 6.

“We have filed criminal charges against the owners of some of the worst buildings in this neighborhood,” said Drosman. “They are believed to have the most dangerous and harmful living conditions that we know of.”

Drosman said that 12571 Keel Ave. belongs to Tradewinds Associates, a limited partnership controlled by C.I.P. Associates. The San Clemente company, which owns four other buildings in Buena Clinton, filed for bankruptcy last year in federal court in San Diego.

The court warrants name Peters, president of C.I.P. Associates, as well as directors Gary Blyther of Ontario, Eric M. St. John of Huntington Beach and Robert Frunz of Orange.

John W. Cove, of Corona del Mar, owner of 12602 Keel Ave., and James Comer, Los Alamitos, owner of 12702 Sunswept Ave., also were named in the court documents.

Peters said he has been trying to repair his buildings and is “confused” by the criminal charges.

“We’ve been meeting with them (Garden Grove officials) every week . . . to let them know about our progress. I thought we were doing a good job, making a good-faith effort.

“I have a call into the city to ask for an explanation, but the call hasn’t been returned yet,” added Peters, who said the filing of criminal charges may jeopardize the planned sale of his company’s five Buena Clinton properties.

Peters also said that Blyther, St. John and Frunz are not affiliated with C.I.P. Associates. He said they were cited erroneously.

Neither Cove nor Comer could be reached for comment.

Drosman recalled that he met with Peters several months ago and told him the city would be cracking down on code violations. The owner had “full knowledge” that the city was contemplating filing criminal charges against recalcitrant landlords, he said.

“If Mr. Peters has really made corrections, perhaps it’s too little or too late,” said a skeptical Drosman, adding, “Maybe these charges will inspire him to even greater heights.”