Garden Grove : Apartment Owner to Be Ordered to Repair Units

Responding to tenants’ complaints, city building inspectors Friday completed a two-week inspection of 19 apartment buildings and said that landlord Carmine Esposito must resolve such problems as broken glass, exposed wiring, cockroaches and inoperative plumbing.

Building Inspector Ken Miller, who headed the inspections at the apartments at Chapman Avenue and Jetty Circle just west of the Crystal Cathedral, said notices will be mailed to Esposito next week, requesting that repairs be made.

Miller said the inspection action was taken in response to complaints from tenants and former apartment managers.

Esposito also owns property in the Buena Clinton area and is the subject of a complaint filed by the City of Santa Ana alleging that he has failed to correct substandard conditions in an apartment complex he owns in that city. He has been “very cooperative” in allowing full inspections, Miller said.

Miller added that Esposito has made “substantial” improvements in another complex, the once-blighted Westminster Chimes apartments he owns on Westminster Avenue.

Miller said the problems aren’t as severe as those found in many apartments in Buena Clinton, located south of Westminster Avenue and east of Fairview Street, but are the kinds of things that could lead to slums if neglected. “The first thing you know, you’ve worn out the building and instead of a few problems, you’ve got hundreds,” he said. “It’s just like owning an automobile. If you don’t maintain it, you’re sure to have major problems.”