INS’ Aliens Motel Cited Over Zoning, Building Violations

A privately run detention center for illegal aliens, which caused an outcry when it opened recently in a Hollywood residential neighborhood, has been cited for Zoning and Building Code violations and may be forced to move, Los Angeles city officials said Friday.

The Department of Building and Safety contends that Behavioral Systems Southwest Inc., which runs the detention center under a contract with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has violated various city codes and regulations. The department cited the company for overcrowded conditions, the lack of emergency exits and fences that exceed the height limits. The INS was not named in the order.

Bob Steinbach, assistant chief of the department’s conservation bureau, said the facility--a converted motel located at 6705 DeLongpre Ave. in a neighborhood of single-family homes and apartment buildings--also violates the current zoning restrictions of an R-4 or residential neighborhood.

Difficult Position

“They’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said of the company. “They’re just in the wrong place with the wrong building.”

Steinbach said his department had ordered the Pomona-based company to correct the violations by Feb. 15 and restore the building to its originally permitted use.

“That means they have to move everybody out and start operating as a motel again and not a security facility,” he said.

The detention facility is intended to eventually house about 125 men, women and children. Since its opening on New Year’s Eve, local residents have expressed alarm at its presence, not to mention its barred windows, security gates and barbed wire atop a 10-foot fence.

Although Steinbach said his office had informed the company of the complaint late Wednesday, Behavioral Systems officials said they were not aware of it. On Thursday, a company executive and INS officials appeared at a news conference to defend the facility and deny violating any city codes.

Ted Nissen, the firm’s president and co-owner who spoke at the news conference, said Friday that company officials “are merely awaiting until we are served with the official notice from the City of Los Angeles and we will turn it over to our attorney and seek legal redress from this. Either we’re right or they’re right.”

Can Be Resolved

Nissen refused further comment, except to say he stands by his earlier statements that his company believes it can legally operate the detention facility in Hollywood and that any problems with the city can be resolved.

Nissen said his company has already complied with the Fire Department’s request that it remove concertina wire on the roof of the building, because it was a potential hazard for firefighters, and agreed to install “push-bars” on the metal gates of the facility to allow a quick escape in the event of a fire.

Steinbach, however, said that since his department’s order was issued Wednesday, he has learned of another Building Code violation at the detention site involving bolted bars on bedroom windows.

Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo, who represents the area and opposes the detention center, said the company could conceivably obtain a conditional-use permit or an easing of the zoning requirements for the facility. However, public hearings and a review by the Planning Commission, zoning commissioners or the City Council would have to take place first.

Meanwhile, the city clerk’s office said Friday that it cannot find any record that Behavioral Systems has applied for a business permit or filed the required tax forms with the city.

“We are investigating this,” said Donald J. DeBord, chief of tax and permit division for the city clerk’s office, who added that a thorough search could take several days. He said the city’s Municipal Code requires businesses to register with his office and obtain a business tax registration certificate.

Asked what his agency would do if the INS facility is forced to move from Hollywood, agency spokesman Joe Flanders refused to speculate on that possibility.

“I’m sure the contractor will endeavor to work things out,” he said.