City Issues Violation Notice on Crescent Drive Apartment Complex

Ongoing complains from several tenants about the living conditions at 350 North Crescent Dr. in Beverly Hills prompted the city to issue a violation notice. The City Council will continue discussing the matter during Thursday's study session.

As more complaints mounted during public speaking at the Sept. 24 City Council meeting, City Manager Jeff Kolin said the code enforcement officer provided a surprise inspection and issued the violation notice, requesting immediate compliance. The building's broken air conditioning unit not servicing enough of the units is the main concern.

"The conditions have been horrendous," said Mary Ann Zola, who said she and her husband pay the rent for her sister-in-law, a tenant there. "Garbage is falling through vents in my sister-in-law's bathroom. The water is rusty. There's only hot water in some places and only cold water in others. There's no air conditioning."

Zola added that the sister-in-law went to the hospital during the early September heat wave, due to the air circulation issues at 350 North Crescent Dr.

Councilmember Nancy Krasne said the building's landlord "Metta" owns an apartment complex in Westwood, and alluded to finding bad online reviews.

"It's about the whole city not allowing this kind of thing to happen in our city," Krasne said. "I've only said once a building had to be red tagged, and I have a feeling this might have to be another one. And he's probably considering now selling the building so he won't have to pay relocation fees. It behooves us to pay close attention to what he's doing."

Vice Mayor Lili Bosse noted they need to have a quick timeline of response, and keep the pressure on investigating and resolving the issue.

Another tenant told the City Council the building is owned by two brothers, as well as potentially a group of investors from India.