CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – On Wednesday county building officials served a notice of nuisance and order to abate on the Lake Haven Motel, damaged by a Sunday afternoon fire.

The fire at the motel, located at 100 Short St. in Clearlake Oaks, also is believed to have taken the life of one of the people who had been living at the motel long-term.

Robert Claude Hood, 67, was found on the couch in his upstairs unit, where the origin of the fire was traced to a burning cigarette in his kitchen trash can, according to the Lake County Arson Task Force findings.

The exact cause of Hood’s death is pending the results of his autopsy, which took place on Tuesday, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire also displaced about two dozen people, who Red Cross supplied with temporary housing after the fire.

Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos and Deputy Chief Pat Brown both confirmed to Lake County News that their agency has had ongoing concerns about safety at the building, which was permitted and constructed in the 1970s of wood and cinder blocks.

Brown, the incident commander on the fire, said at the scene that he was shutting the motel down due to the building's conditions.

On the day of the fire, Community Development Director Rick Coel and Chief Building Official Michael Lockett inspected the motel building.

“This was the first time we have been able to inspect the interior of the units,” Coel said, noting there were numerous violations.

After the Sunday inspection, Coel said he and Lockett red-tagged the property, with Pacific Gas and Electric pulling the power to all of the units.

The following morning, the owner of the building – the Napa-based Johanson 1991 Living Trust – had a crew boarding up the doors and broken windows, Coel said.

The motel – which is located on just over an acre – was transferred into the Johanson 1991 Living Trust in December 2008, according to county property records. The trust also owns two other properties – one each in Clearlake Oaks and Hidden Valley Lake.

The Wednesday nuisance and abatement notice, which resulted from the inspection Coel and Lockett carried out Sunday, details the numerous violations they found.

Coel said the notice includes new violations not in the original notice because they hadn't previously been able to gain access to the building.

Those violations listed in this week's document include damage that occurred Sunday – fire and water damage, along with broken windows and holes in the roof.

There also is unsafe electrical within the units, two of which have excessive trash buildup; decaying, substandard concrete that is loose and unsafe on the balcony along the building's south side; wire covering the exterior windows of upstairs lofts; wire from the roof to the balcony along the south balcony; wire blocking handrails; obstructions along the north balcony that are limiting escape routes; and open electrical wiring throughout the property, according to the notice.

The fire alarm system doesn't work and is not annually certified by a licensed fire alarm testing contractor; the fire extinguishers also aren't annually certified; and the majority of units are lacking smoke detectors, the notice states.

The list of violations also includes the unpermitted conversion of the motel to apartments.

“The county has never authorized it to be converted to apartments,” Coel said. “It is clear to us that the entire facility was being used as apartments.”

In addition, the units do not have carbon monoxide detectors, a fact which isn't documented in the notice but which Coel confirmed from his observations during the Sunday inspection.

Installing carbon monoxide detectors “will be required as part of the building permit plan review and verified to be installed prior to final inspection for the repair and/or conversion permits,” he said.

Coel said his department posted a notice of nuisance and order to abate last February for a number of violations, including conversion of motel rooms to apartments, excessive open and outdoor storage, nonoperational vehicles and construction without permits.

“We were not able to inspect the inside of the units at the time so had to make some assumptions as to unpermitted construction,” he said.

The Johanson trust filed a request for a hearing before the Board of Supervisors, claiming that the property was in “excellent, clean condition,” Coel said.

Since that notice's posting, The Johanson trust cleaned up the motel's exterior, Coel said, removing junk and nonoperational vehicles.

Coel said the Johanson trust also told the county that it was collecting transient occupancy tax – also known as bed tax, which is collected by motels, hotels, bed and breakfasts and other accommodations – for payment to the county, and only allowing short-term leases.

County Administrative Officer Matt Perry confirmed to Lake County News that the Johanson trust has, indeed, paid the county transient occupancy tax. However, the information about the amounts paid by specific properties and businesses is confidential.

As for the owner's request to go before the board, Coel said he and Lockett had planned to address it this winter and had spoken about the case right before Christmas.

Wednesday's nuisance and abatement notice – which supersedes the one served on Feb. 7, 2014 – requires that abatement begin within 30 days, or by Feb. 9.

The notice states that the owner can seek a hearing before the Board of Supervisors by submitting a request by Feb. 2.

Failure to adhere to the notice could lead to the county hiring a contractor to move forward on the abatement, which would be charged to the owner as a special assessment.

The motel's owner is required to secure it by boarding it up, and removing all trash from the property and items from the balconies.

The county also gives the motel owner three options as to the future of the building: submit a building permit application and plans prepared by a California licensed architect or engineer for repairs to the building in order to return it to use as a motel; pursue the required permitting to convert the property and its buildings to multifamily residential use; or demolish the substandard buildings and remove the trash and debris.

Pursuing the conversion to apartments, said Coel, will require approval of a general plan amendment and rezone.

He said there will be no occupancy allowed and no electricity restored until the property is repaired and brought to code as an apartment building or returned back to a motel.

“The issues are complex,” Coel said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.