> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Court-appointed lawyer takes control of Sunset Park building after eight-year code fight - URL: https://www.smdp.com/officials-label-apartment-building-a-dangerous-blight-to-the-community-owner-says-he-was-given-mixed-signals/ - Published: 2005-01-12T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:59:51.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Sunset Park, #archive-import, Homeless *City to landlord: Hand over the keys* SUNSET PARK — A court-appointed lawyer took control of a Santa Monica apartment building Tuesday, nearly eight years after the building’s owner was first charged with a host of health and safety violations. Guillermo Gonzalez, 55, a retired construction worker, may be forced to sell the three-unit building he’s lived in for 31 years, which city officials called a “dangerous blight to the community” that has been “the site of chronic criminal activity for many years.” City Hall requested that the courts intervene, alleging the property was overrun with garbage, flammable materials and junk, and that a single upstairs bedroom had some 14 bunkbeds rented out by the week. In 1997, Gonzalez was charged with 85 misdemeanor counts for violations of building, fire, plumbing and electrical codes, and has had ongoing legal problems since then, according to Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky. Gonzalez, who lives in the Sunset Park building with his girlfriend and their daughter, maintained he has complied with all of City Hall’s requests. He accused inspectors of giving him conflicting directions. “Now that I correct all the violations, they want to take it away from me,” said Gonzalez, who wore a yellow hard hat as he walked through his building at 2438 Ocean Park Blvd. on Tuesday. “They’ve been lying, and I have proof. We corrected everything and still they say it’s not up to code.” As to the alleged overcrowding in one of the bedrooms, Gonzalez said that claim also was untrue. “You cannot have 14 people here, it’s impossible,” he said, standing in the middle of the bedroom in question. “We only have two bathrooms.” Seven bunk beds lined the walls of the spacious bedroom, though renters said only four bottom bunks were being used, and the top bunks appeared to be reserved for storage. Radinsky said Gonzalez has repeatedly refused court orders to fix a host of code violations, landing him in county jail for nine months in 1998\. City Hall twice pressed criminal charges against Gonzalez, who is scheduled to be sentenced later this month on a probation violation related to the most recent criminal charges, Radinsky said. In a separate civil matter, Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole last week appointed attorney David Pasternak to take control of the property and determine whether it can conform to health and safety codes, or if it is in such disrepair that it needs to be demolished. Making that determination will require several inspections, contractor estimates and assessments from real estate agents, according to Pasternak, adding the costs will be paid for by Gonzalez, who likely will either have to sell his property or refinance his mortgage. Pasternak said Gonzalez and the building’s other tenants would be allowed to stay in the property, for now. Asked to make an informal assessment of the building, Pasternak, who visited the building Tuesday with a legal assistant and a locksmith, in case there was any trouble getting Gonzalez to grant access to the property, said, “It’s a building that needs quite a bit of work. I wouldn’t want to live in it.” City Hall has not sought to take control of a property from its owner for more than 15 years and has never done so for health and safety code violations, according to Radinsky. Nonetheless, Radinsky warned owners of the possibility, which is known legally as a “receivership.” > “The receivership remedy is drastic medicine, but we won’t hesitate to use it in proper cases to protect the well-being of the community.” “Owners need to know that their buildings can be taken away if they have code violations and they refuse to fix them after the city gives them a fair chance,” he said. In addition to the code violations, Radinsky said there had been 32 calls to police within a one-year period for complaints related to excessive noise and other alleged criminal wrongdoing. Gonzalez credited a disgruntled neighbor with making the calls. A different neighbor who lives in an apartment complex next door said Tuesday the property is unappealing, but added its tenants were always courteous and respectful. “Clearly, it’s a little unaesthetic, but I don’t think it’s hurting anybody,” said the neighbor, who asked to be identified only as “Mark.” In addition to Gonzalez and his family, who live in a front unit, four renters pay between $50 and $65 a week to rent bunk beds in a large upstairs bedroom. Another family of three pays $650 monthly to rent the building’s rear unit, Gonzalez said. Tracy Condon, a spokeswoman for the Rent Control Board said the building is not under rent control because its owner lives in it and he filed for an exemption in 1980. One of the bunkbed renters, David Thigpen, expressed frustration with City Hall’s actions. He wondered aloud where he and the others would go if the house were razed, adding he didn’t have the money to move. Asked what he does for work, Thigpen said, “I’m drawing Social Security. I’m a mental case, a nut.” Apparently, Thigpen is not the only person down on their luck who has stayed in the Ocean Park Boulevard building. Beatriz Zustovich, girlfriend to Gonzalez for the past nine years, said Gonzalez frequently opens up his home and his kitchen to homeless people. “He has a good heart, he helps people,” Zustovich said. “He doesn’t like people to suffer.” Zustovich urged Gonzalez on Tuesday to let the property be sold and make a fresh start. “Don’t be greedy,” she said. “It’s time to move on.” Gonzalez said he was attached emotionally to the property, where he’s lived since 1973 and where he raised his first son, who has since moved out. “Don’t be greedy?” he asked. “Where are you going to sleep? You can’t sleep on the money.” It is unclear whether Gonzalez, his family and renters at the property will be evicted while Pasternak evaluates the property, a process that is expected to take several weeks or more. In the meantime, Stacey Gonzalez, the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, said change would be OK with her. “I don’t like this house,” she said. “It’s old.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/011205-01_01-12.jpg) (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 12, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)