In the past five years, National City Councilman Jerry Cano has been issued multiple building code violations for completed non-permitted work at his Mary Lane home.
After failing to address the violations in a timely manner the city on March 19, 2015 filed a Recordation of Notice of Code Violations against Cano’s property.
“You have failed to respond to our requests to bring your property into compliance,” the recordation states. “At this time we have no other option but to place a recordation of code violations against your property. Administrative citations may also be levied against your property.”
A recordation is a legal document that limits a property owner’s ability to sell, refinance or construct anything on the property until the code violations are corrected, said Frank Parra, who signed the document.
Parra is National City’s director of emergency services which oversees building code compliance.
Today, nearly three years to the day after the recordation was filed, and five years since his first notice of violation, Cano still remains non-compliant.
Cano on March 9 said he is aware that he is in violation of several building codes and is “working” on getting into compliance. He would not elaborate on his efforts to address the issues, contending The Star-News would write an unfair story about him.
Cano’s violations first came to light in June 2013 when, roughly seven months after being elected to office, he sent a complaint to the city’s building department to report neighbor Anne Campbell for having an outside deck that was possibly violating city code.
Building Official Luis Sainz said the councilman invited him onto his property to view the deck in question. That’s when Sainz said he noticed Cano had had some renovations of his own.
A review of city records showed that Campbell, a former National School District board member, did have the necessary permits, Sainz said.
Cano was first notified about his violations on June 6, 2013. After going more than a year without obtaining the proper permits, Cano was issued a final notice of violations by the city on Nov. 25, 2014.
“Review of our records indicate that you have not yet obtained a demolition/building permit to correct the violations at your property located at … Mary Lane,” the final notice stated.
“It has now been over 17 months since we visited your property and discussed in detail several non-permitted construction projects which you admitted to performing.”
The final notice indicated that Cano had called the city’s building division front counter several times between 2013 and 2014. He had also submitted plans to correct the violations. But those plans were not up to city standards.
On Sept.22, 2014 Cano was notified that the city had provided plan submittal corrections but he did not respond to them.
Cano did hire a designer who brought the building plans forward to the city but for some reason Cano discontinued moving forward with the process, Parra said.
Parra, who served as a National City city councilman from 2002 through 2010, said after the final notice of violation, he handed over the case to then- City Attorney Claudia Silva for review. It was her decision to take action against the property, Parra said.
“We felt that the recordation was the level we wanted to take it to,” Parra said. “We thought it was appropriate for this case. It is a significant step when we record against a property.”
Parra said a recordation is a last-resort to get a resident to address their code violations.
Despite the threat of administrative citations, Cano was never fined.
Cano did not have to pay fees or penalties because Cano was in the plan submittal stage, which according to National City’s Municipal Code fines are not given at this stage.
Parra dismissed the idea that Cano avoided paying any fines because of his position with the city.
“If he got special treatment, he wouldn’t have got a recordation,” Parra said. “I don’t think that by any way, shape or form he was given special treatment (because he is an elected official).”
Sainz said administrative citations are only administered after a final notice is given and a person still has not done anything to bring the work into compliance.
Sainz said fees start at $100 per violation, then could increases to $250 and could go as high as $500 per violation, per day.
Sainz said fees will increase at the discretion of a building inspector.
Sainz said when someone pulls permits while having violations they would have to pay a penalty which would be double the cost of a permit.
Administrative citations can still be levied on top of a recordation but for Cano’s case they were not.
“We thought that a recordation was sufficient,” Parra said.
Sainz said Cano has not been in contact with the city in a few years in regards to pulling permits or showing any effort in wanting to bring his property into compliance.
Sainz said if Cano wants to get in compliance the building plans his designer submitted would no longer be valid because they have expired.
Parra said Cano’s case remains open and will not close until Cano addresses his building code violations, at which point, the city would dismiss the recordation.
According to the city Cano has not fixed any of his 12 building code violations since he was first notified of them in 2013.
IN 2013 NATIONAL CITY COUNCILMAN JERRY CANO WAS CITED FOR 12 CODE
VIOLATIONS AT HIS HOME. THEY ARE :
• Non-permitted extension of patio cover which is within the side yard setback;
• Non-permitted sheetrock ceiling installation
• Non-permitted lighting installed at the ceiling of rear yard patio
• Non-permitted installation of water lines at the west end of the dwelling which run to the pool and are used as a chlorine rinse area.
• Non-permitted installation of a gas line at the west end of the rear yard patio,
• Non-permitted installation of gas line to the outdoor barbecue at the east side of the dwelling. This includes a new roof and wall.
• Non-permitted installation of a sink and drain lines to the outdoor kitchen area.
• Non-permitted installation of electrical lines to the rear side of the dwelling under the patio cover. This is being used for exterior T.V. and sound system.
• Non-permitted installation of stairs at the rear yard area beyond the pool leading up to the viewing area. Stairs are also missing handrails and guard rails.
• Non-permitted installation of electrical receptacles at the rear yard retaining wall areas.
• There is an elevation change in the flooring from the patio area of the pool deck. This is a trip hazard and needs to be corrected. This was created by the installation of outdoor tile flooring to the patio.
• Non-permitted construction of an outdoor kitchen at the east side of the dwelling. This includes a new roof and wall.
