 "Photo: Ken Padilla, Staff Photographer")
College Area non-student residents cheered and whistled last Wednesday after they heard the news: Ian Sells and Michael Haaland of W.T. Haaland Realty and Millenium Construction would cease construction of mini-dorms from now on.
"That's just the two guys, that's just the two we've got, we're not done yet, we've got a long ways to go," said Jay Wilson, city council representative for councilman Jim Madaffer, at the College Area Community Council meeting last Wednesday. "But these are the major contenders, and we're very pleased that Michael Aguirre (the city attorney) and councilmember Kevin Faulconer got on board on this issue. That's certainly going to help down the road.
"We've stopped one investor, we haven't stopped them all."
At about 4:45 p.m. last Wednesday, Aguirre, Mayor Jerry Sanders, Madaffer and Faulconer held a press conference, with Haaland and Sells present.
Wilson told members of the CACC at Wednesday's monthly meeting that Aguirre presented the mini-dorm owners and announced they'd no longer be building mini-dorms: Their current projects will be halted and converted back to single-family homes, including two properties in Pacific Beach. However, the realtors have been granted final permits on three home conversions in the College Area that are almost complete.
While CACC members seemed happy, CACC President Doug Case said there is still some concern.
"It was kind of mysterious as to what the nature of the negotiations between the city attorney were," Case said. "A big question in everybody's minds is what they're going to do with their existing properties."
Haaland and Sells own dozens of converted properties, but did not comment at the press conference on the status of them.
Wilson said, though, that Madaffer would ultimately want all of the mini-dorms returned to original single-family homes, but there has been no decision made about the possibility of that happening.
"Time will tell, but we will definitely be working on that," Wilson said.
He added that the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department for the City of San Diego begins its program with the San Diego Police Department on nuisance violations at the end of this month, with the ability to give on-site citations of up to $1,000, and the citations can be given in person.
The program aims to stifle the noise of college students and all other noisy tenants, which may help the mini-dorm situation.
City and code compliance representatives announced during a press conference held on March 7 at SDSU that they'd be implementing the fine on April 30 .
Case said that this ordinance is giving officers the option to gradually increase the dollar amount of each fine given to a noisy neighbor; they can start with $250 fines and work their way up or go straight to $1,000.
"And I believe it's their intent to issue just the $1,000," Case said. "It's my understanding that they're not going to graduate to the $1,000. They're just going straight for it."
That fine would be $1,000 for each of the tenants of the property and the property owner, even absentee owners who rent their homes.
"But their intent is to not cite the owner on the first offense, but to notify them and on the second offense, cite the owner," Case said.
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