Covered Wagon Motel Given 90 Days to Correct Problems

The city’s Planning Commission this week gave the owner of the Covered Wagon Motel on Beach Boulevard 90 days to correct code violations and prepare a management plan for the property.

From September 1996 to January 1997, four inspections at the 70-unit motel resulted in about 200 code violations, city officials said.

In 1996, the Police Department received about 350 calls about incidents at the motel, and 63 police reports were filed as a result. Incidents included robberies, assaults, public drunkenness, disturbances, spousal abuse, possession of drugs and parole violations, officials said.

“This is far too many calls for service,” Police Investigator Tom Engle said. Calls to the site are continuing at a high rate, he said--69 to date this year.

Gregory Parkin, who bought the property last year, said the motel was badly damaged and had been neglected.

“This motel was a terrible undertaking,” he said. “We have really tried to work hard” to repair the property.

Parkin said that the management has borrowed more than $1 million to buy and rehabilitate the motel and that he and his partner have spent about $200,000 of their own money.

“There’s just too much to do,” he said. “You have 70 totaled units--and you can’t do them overnight.”

Both interior and exterior improvements have been made, Parkin said.

Planning commissioners gave Parkin until July 21 to correct all code violations.

“It’s fair to both sides because it gives us time to continue to show that we mean well,” Parkin said.

Commissioners also directed Parkin to work with the city staff to draw up a management plan to be presented to the city June 9.

The commission voted to revoke the conditional use permit for the cocktail lounge on the property, which has been closed for about five years.