DOWNTOWN : Hotel Owner Fights Operating Controls

The owner of a Skid Row hotel has appealed a decision by city officials to impose strict operating conditions at the two-story building, which police say is a source for prostitution and drug trafficking.

Chung Chuan Wang filed the appeal July 14--the last day before the 16 conditions were to take effect at the Modoc Hotel, 819 S. Towne Ave., city officials said.

In a written statement submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals, Wang claimed that the operating requirements, which ranged from installation of no-loitering signs to hiring of a 24-hour security guard, are unconstitutional.

“This decision by the city is nothing more than a governmental attempt to shift the burden and responsibility of curing society’s ills upon a private party,” according to the appeal.

Wang, who has twice been convicted of slum violations, also denied allegations made about the property during a June 23 public hearing. School officials and parents testified that drug needles were found across the street from the hotel near 9th Street School.

Such testimony and police records concerning prostitution arrests persuaded Jon S. Perica, associate zoning administrator, to impose the conditions earlier this month.

An appeal hearing is expected to be scheduled by September, officials said.