LUCERNE – The owner of two dilapidated lakeside motels has been given 30 days to evict his tenants and comply with a county nuisance abatement order.
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to abate the motels in what has been a long-running Code Enforcement case against Dominic Affinito of Fort Bragg.
Affinito owns the 13-unit Lake Sands Resort at 6335 E. Highway 20 and the Lucerne Motel, located at 6339 E. Highway 20, with 12 units.
Affinito and the county also have been in long-term negotiations regarding his plan to demolish the Lake Sands and build a larger facility, what the staff report for the nuisance abatement hearing described as a “70 unit higher end hotel.”
However, originally those discussions had included Affinito's desire to use the site of the current Lucerne Clubhouse as a parking lot for his hotel, which the community loudly protested.
Affinito said he still plans to tear down the Lake Sands in order to build a new one, even without the parking lot space.
In the meantime, he said, "I'm looking for a little bit of consideration from these folks here," he said, gesturing to Code Enforcement staffers Voris Brumfield and Roderic Hilliard.
The staff report from Code Enforcement explained that they opened the case against Affinito on March 31, 2004, after receiving complaints about substandard housing, a substandard dock/pier, nuisance vehicles and safety violations. They reported that Affinito had converted the motels' rooms to studio apartments in violation of the county zoning ordinance.
Since that time repeated Code Enforcement actions have been taken by the county – with 20 actions taken from the time period of March 2005 through January 2006, mostly at the Lake Sands. Affinito has taken out repair permits and made an effort to comply.
However, the situation of the substandard units and pier continued, with an electrical outlet igniting a small fire in one of the Lake Sands' units in August of 2006. Earlier this year, the county received reports of a broken water pipe that damaged one of the rooms at the Lake Sands as well.
Accompanying Affinito to the Tuesday hearing was Dennis Cox, his property manager, who Code Enforcement staff noted had in the past resisted their attempts to investigate complaints.
Affinito said he was looking for a place to build a first-class hotel when former Deputy Development Director Andy Peterson told him about the Lake Sands Resort. Affinito said he bought the motel, which formerly was used as a drug rehabilitation facility, for $1 million.
Both motels currently are listed for sale; Affinito is asking $850,000 for the Lake Sands and $650,000 for the Lucerne Motel.
Throughout the hearing Affinito veered off topic, trying to blame Peterson for making him promises about the county's support of the project, which Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox denied Peterson made.
Cox said he wanted it on the record that Peterson's "recollection of the events are quite different than what Mr. Affinito explained."
Affinito also said he understood the community survey supported his new hotel project using the clubhouse location as a parking lot.
Supervisor Denise Rushing asked Cox about the community survey results. According to Cox, they contradicted Affinito's understanding.
"The majority did not support making it available as parking for the neighboring hotel building," Cox said.
"Speaking of history and promises being made," said Supervisor Ed Robey as he pulled from the board packet a 2005 letter the county sent Affinito requiring that he cease renting the motel rooms on a long-term basis. Robey then referred to assurances Affiinito had offered the county about stopping that activity.
Affinito again tried to veer off topic, saying that the election – namely, that for District 3 Supervisor, which Rushing won last fall – had changed the plans for his hotel project.
Code Enforcement's Hilliard said their work was independent of redevelopment projects like Affinito's.
"It hurts me to see this place just sit," said Affinito. "I'd still like to go forward and making something happen."
Rushing said it wasn't a good idea to link his building project with the abatement issue.
Robey said the only thing he agreed with Affinito on was the need to demolish the Lake Sands.
"I'm not going to tear it down until I have a complete plan," said Affinito.
He also hinted that he and the county could end up in court over the issue of what he perceived were promises of county help he claimed Peterson made.
Rushing said that, regardless of what was said, Peterson didn't represent the board.
"I'll say I misunderstood, but I didn't," said Affinito, again referring to the allegations about Peterson.
Lucerne resident Lenny Matthews said the Lake Sands' conditions were squalid, and she suggested the board have Affinito move in until it's demolished. Affinito blamed the hotel condition on his tenants.
Donna Christopher, another Lucerne resident, said she used to help the former owner maintain the Lake Sands, and that it had been immaculate at one point.
"Mr. Affinito, tear down this mess," she said, adding that the building's condition sets a bad precedent for the town.
Another Lucerne resident, Sophie Annan Jensen, said the Lake Sands discourages visitors coming into town from stopping, and asked the board to take immediate abatement action.
"It's past time," she said.
Affinito asked for enough time to have tenants move out, and said he wanted time also to discuss his hotel project with Cox and new Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely.
"Our preference is to knock it down and build something new," Affinito said.
Rushing made the motion for the abatement order, saying the town of Lucerne was asking Affinito to correct the blight.
The motion passed unanimously.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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