Businesses can expect a $500 visit from officers
Business owners beware: The next time City Hall knocks on your door, you might be handed a $500 bill.
The building and safety department is cracking down on businesses that might be violating the conditions they agreed to when City Hall gave them approval. So far, code compliance officers have conducted about 100 surprise inspections — at $500 a piece.
The City Council authorized the fee last fall and directed city staff to begin enforcing conditional use permits this past spring, said Tim McCormick, head of the building and safety department.
“There was growing concern that there was no monitoring of commercial establishments,” he said. “The policy from council is that the permit holders are benefiting from the permits, and it’s appropriate that they pay... it’s the cost of doing business.”
But some business owners targeted so far — most of whom are complying — don’t feel it’s appropriate at all.
“Not only are businesses being subjected to inspection, they are paying for it,” said John Warfel, chairman of the Bayside District Corp. board, which helps manage downtown Santa Monica. “It seems unfair — the inspections are unannounced and expensive.”
Warfel said Bayside has received numerous complaints from business owners. The board plans to discuss the issue at its next meeting, Warfel said.
“There is quite a concern about it,” he said. “How the program was implemented also is a problem.”
Merchants associations and business district boards weren’t notified by City Hall that the inspections were going to begin. As a result, many business owners were caught off guard.
That’s the point, said McCormick. However, he added that the fees and inspections were discussed during public meetings last fall.
“It’s not really our intent to catch people breaking the law but to create a deterrent,” he said. “There is an incentive to comply, and the program is meant to be self policing.”
CUPs range from business to business. They could be related to land use approvals for the buildings, or to the businesses themselves, such as what activities are taking place at certain hours, how much alcohol is served at a restaurant versus food, or how much noise is generated at specific times.
Business owners who choose not to comply after the initial inspection — when they are made aware of the infraction — will be fined.
“It’s a flat fee of $500 for the inspection and if we have to come back, then it’s an additional $300,” McCormick said. “But we are not assessing the $300 unless they have a chance to fix it... we want to give them a chance to do the right thing, and I think people really want to do the right thing.”
However, the building and safety department projected in next year’s budget that it would increase revenue by $325,000 as result of the program — $250,000 with the $500 flat fee and $75,000 in fines.
McCormick said costs of program will match the revenue. The inspection fee was based on an hourly rate of $100 for a code compliance officer, who will spend an estimated five hours reviewing the conditions of the business, inspecting it and following up with the merchant.
“The idea is that it would pay for itself,” he said. “The city is not making any money on it. We are simply trying to pay for our costs.”
The building and safety department has hired one inspection officer and plans to hire two more, plus a staff support person, within three months. McCormick estimates that 500 inspections will be done this year.
He added that eventually the building and safety department will give business owners advance warning of the inspections and conduct a public outreach campaign to educate merchants on the law.
“Some new business owners may not be aware of the regulations on a particular site,” McCormick said. “We’re willing to allow the new business owner to learn the regulations before we fine them.”
“Some new business owners may not be aware of the regulations on a particular site. We’re willing to allow the new business owner to learn the regulations before we fine them.” — INSPECTIONS, from page 1 Tim McCormick Head of the building and safety department
But for now, business owners can expect to be surprised. The City Council apparently wanted an idea of how many business owners were complying, which is why it ordered surprise inspections. Of the businesses inspected, McCormick said about 75 are complying. He expects to give the City Council a report in three months.
The CUP crackdown is part of an overall effort by the building and safety department to have all codes be obeyed throughout the city. It has hired 10 new code compliance officers — at the direction of the City Council — to monitor the numerous codes in Santa Monica. Most recently, businesses have been targeted for illegal signs outside of their stores and residents have been scrutinized for the height of their hedges.
Kathy Dodson, president and CEO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, said her office hasn’t received any complaints from business owners yet, but she expects that it will.
“I expect this summer to be full of problems, they have 10 bodies now,” she said, adding City Hall should first focus on its notorious inefficiencies. “There are so many problems with that department, and they are spending all of this time and money on code compliance.”
The CUP inspection program is expected to last 10 years.
“If you are doing a good job and following the approvals, you won’t see us for a couple of years,” McCormick said. “If you are found in violation, you’ll see us sooner.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 14, 2004. Read the original PDF.