After deadly Oakland fire, Southern California artist building is red-tagged
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/...ern-california-artist-building-is-red-tagged/
SANTA ANA – Code enforcement, fire and building safety officials emerged from a Tuesday morning walk-through of the Advertising Arts Building housing artist studios – the third inspection within the past week – and red-tagged the basement with “Do not enter” signs citing substandard conditions.
“We did find violations that make it a life-safety concern,” Alvaro Nuñez, who oversees Santa Ana’s code enforcement division, said after the more than two-hour inspection.
Authorities observed “many violations,” Nuñez said, in the building behind a barbed wire fence on East First Street that is accessible only from a parallel cul-de-sac. He said there was “evidence of some folks living there” – beds, futons, refrigerators, a stove and laundry machines, among other appliances, and food materials.
Further details were not disclosed and the inspection report was not immediately available.
Nuñez said he is not sure if artists occupying the building will need to move out.
Code enforcement officers were on site Thursday and Friday responding to a complaint filed with the city days after a fire claimed 36 lives at the Ghost Ship art colony in Oakland. In Orange County, like the Bay Area, municipalities face balancing safety with allowing industrial and other aging structures to be used by people who can’t afford high rents.
The two-story, wood-and-brick Arts Advertising Building is zoned for industrial and manufacturing uses and is permitted to hold artist workspaces, but not residences.
Inspectors last week could not enter individual units – about 30 – on the first and second floors and posted notices of improper occupancy.
But painter and performance artist Arthur Mendoza, 55, who lives in Fullerton and has worked at the building for more than five years, said artists are only working there.
“When we all signed up, that was part of the agreement,” Mendoza said of the nonresidential lease terms. “I feel safe here. I’ve never worried about the people or anything, or the building, and I’m glad that they are inspecting.”
Property manager Andrew Hart cooperated with authorities, and prior to the walk-through said the building has a full sprinkler system and he’s installed additional fire safety precautions since the Ghost Ship fire.
“We do month-to-month. I put, ‘artist studio,’ so if they are (living there), then they’re violating the lease,” he said, showing Nuñez a copy of the document.
Hart did not allow media to shadow inspectors and did not return calls for comment afterward.
Nuñez said having the property manager present was a “good, good start” and that Hart indicated he is willing to address the violations, most of which can be repaired.
“It worked the way it’s supposed to work. We contacted building safety, Orange County Fire Authority, so it’s actually a good thing,” Nuñez said. “The key thing is, hopefully we won’t have a situation like Oakland.”
A complete inspection report and correction notice will be mailed to the property manager detailing any electrical or mechanical changes required and a compliance timeline, he said. The first violation following notification would generate a $1,000 fine, followed by fines of $2,500 and $5,000 for successive violations..
In the past three years, Santa Ana has changed its municipal code to permit higher fines for code violations and in serious cases, cutting off utilities.
Authorities in Oakland have not yet determined the cause of the Ghost Ship fire, but are looking at the electrical system as part of the analysis.
Mendoza said he had visited the Ghost Ship a couple of times.
“It frightened me,” he said. “But that’s really what it boils down to – affordable housing.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or
jkwong@ocregister.com Twitter: @JessicaGKwong
