2019-08-01 Radeva, Monika - 55075 Monroe - Property Update from Wiatrak1
From:Monika Radeva
Sent:Thursday, August 1, 2019 7:30 AM
To:James Wiatrak
Cc:Nichole Romane;Tania Flores
Subject:RE: Morrow Ranch (55075 Monroe St.) update
Good morning JW,
Thank you for including me in the email below, it is super helpful to keep us in the loop on
matters as this one, since they usually inevitably result in records requests.
Being that I will be leaving for a two-week vacation next week, I have copied Nichole and Tania
to this email, so they are aware as well, since they will be responsible for handling office matters
in my absence.
Please keep us posted as things progress.
Thank you again.
Monika Radeva, CMC | City Clerk
City of La Quinta
78495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA 92253
Tel: (760) 777-7035
MRadeva@laquintaca.gov
From: James Wiatrak <jwiatrak@laquintaca.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 11:54 AM
To: Kevin Meredith <Kmeredith@laquintaca.gov>; Wayne Campbell <Wcampbell@laquintaca.gov>
Cc: AJ Ortega <Aortega@laquintaca.gov>; Bryan McKinney <Bmckinney@laquintaca.gov>; Cheri Flores
<clflores@laquintaca.gov>; Monika Radeva <mradeva@laquintaca.gov>; Tommi Sanchez <Tsanchez@laquintaca.gov>
Subject: Morrow Ranch (55075 Monroe St.) update
Good morning Kevin and Wayne,
I spoke at some length yesterday with Greg Sanders, attorney for the Morrow’s, regarding the
many issues facing them as they progress towards compliance and obtain permits for the
various buildings and additions throughout their property.
According to their attorney, the Morrow’s are suing the former owners, the selling broker and
filing a claim against the title insurance company. To make matters worse, they apparently
found out recently that the house sits atop a Bureau of Reclamation easement and there is likely
a situation where the house cannot be where it is currently located unless the easement is
vacated, if that is even possible. As they work with the CVWD on the easement problem and
sort out the other legal issues, the attorney has asked that we not issue any further citations as
they are working in good faith to correct the many permit and approval deficiencies. I stated
that we would have no objection to halting the citations as long as they provided us with regular
status reports on the project and demonstrated that they are diligently moving forward with the
permitting process. Do you have any objections to my agreement on this?
In another matter, given that the main residence has apparently had several additions and
conversions and is a compilation of manufactured and site-built construction for which there are
no permits and approvals, I have decided that it is in the best interest of the owners and any
2
occupants to revoke our approval to occupy until they submit plans, obtain inspections and
receive approvals. We simply do not know to what extent the structure and MEP’s may be
deficient, and perhaps hazardous, and we need be confident that this dwelling meets the
minimum health and safety codes before we continue to allow people to live there.
I will draft a letter regarding this occupancy revocation and copy you and the City Clerk in the
next few days.
Regards,
James “JW” Wiatrak, CBO, CASp
Building Official ◦ ADA Coordinator
Design & Development Department
City of La Quinta
78495 Calle Tampico ◦ La Quinta, CA 92253
Ph. 760.777.7023
www.laquintaca.gov
www.playinlaquinta.com