92 citations given to Smart & Final site, none to theater site
Supports help stabilize the leaning wall of the Krikorian theater project in Menifee Town Center. (File photo) By Doug Spoon, Editor The C...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
The City of Menifee is pursuing code enforcement actions against the two major inactive construction sites in the city, but to much different degrees.
The city’s Code Enforcement Department has issued a total of 92 citations against two developers of the property originally planned as a Smart & Final store behind the Applebee’s restaurant in Newport Towne Square. That property, with the building virtually complete and the parking lot unfinished, has sat vacant for more than two years because of the developer’s funding problems. A Texas finance company foreclosed on the property more than a year ago.
Meanwhile, the City has not issued any citations against the owner of the Krikorian Premiere Theatres complex, which has sat vacant for a year in Menifee Town Center. The only action taken by the City since the project was abandoned is a code enforcement case for being a public nuisance, according to Menifee Police Captain Dave Gutierrez, whose department oversees code enforcement actions.
“While the Krikorian project does have an open and active code enforcement case, no citations have been issued to date,” Gutierrez said. “This is because the concerns have been related to a public nuisance as opposed to a public safety issue. Code Enforcement is working with the owner to develop a timeline to resolve the public nuisance issues as quickly as possible. Consistent with Code Enforcement practices, if an agreed upon timeline can’t be reached, citations will be issued.”
Dominique Samario, the City’s public information officer, confirmed that no deadline has been set for Krikorian to comply with the request to address the issue of the theater wall that is leaning and appears to show cracks between the foam blocks. Krikorian told Menifee 24/7 in a Feb. 23 news article that he hopes “to get the wall taken care of soon.”
What that means is anyone’s guess. City officials say Krikorian plans to retain an engineer to examine the site and address the problem. Does that mean tearing down a portion of the wall while Krikorian tries to secure additional funding to continue the project? And how long will Krikorian be given to make that happen?
These are questions without answers at this time.
“Currently, the only violation on the property is for a public nuisance regarding the leaning wall,” Gutierrez said. “This is not a safety issue because of the way that the wall is constructed. The portion that is leaning is a styrofoam frame that is in place. Also, the property is fenced and there are no workers on site.
“The owner of the property was recently notified of the violation via a notice of violation and is currently working with their engineer to correct the issue.”
According to city records, the notice of violation was issued on Jan. 28. That was followed by a “failure to comply” notice on Feb. 12. No other official notices have been filed since then.
In interviews with Menifee 24/7, city officials responded to questions about whether the City required any kind of surety bond from Krikorian to protect the City in case work wasn’t finished. Yolanda Macalalad, acting city engineer, said Krikorian did post a $756,500 grading bond, and that no other bonds have been required because even though the walls have been erected, the grading process is not complete.
“He still has to complete the basin, underground drains and compaction of the pads,” Macalalad said. “The only bond required of him was the grading bond, because at that time he was only ready to do grading.”
Krikorian was not required to post a bond for construction of the walls because “vertical construction does not require bonds,” Macalalad said.
In an interview discussion of the disparity between code enforcement cases against Krikorian and the developers of the former Smart & Final property, assistant city manager Jeff Wyman was asked whether he felt the City was showing preferential treatment to Krikorian.
“We’re not giving preferential treatment to anybody,” Wyman said. “Anyone who wishes to put up their hard-earned money and capital on a project in the City, we’re good to work with them. This is one of, if not the most, requested projects in the city. A win would be to have the theater built and open.
“While we encourage projects like this to come into the city, what many don’t seem to understand is that the city doesn’t build those projects. We don’t have rights over the development of that land.”
Wyman added that there seems to be misunderstanding about the issuance of bonds in such projects. He explained that the only bonds posted in projects such as this are posted by the developer. The City does not issue any bonds for the project.
Gutierrez said that of the 92 citations issued regarding the former Smart & Final project, 81 were issued against PRP Menifee, LLC, the primary developer, and 11 were issued against Single Box Menifee, LLC, a limited partnership based in Texas. They were for a combination of safety issues and public nuisances. Failure to Comply notices were sent out when violations were not corrected “with due process time”, he said.
Kirkley Corporation, the project’s main contractor, in March of 2019 filed a lawsuit against PRP Menifee, LLC and Single Box Menifee, LLC, alleging breach of contract. Five lawsuits were originally filed regarding the project but four have since been dismissed. In the most recent court action, PRP Menifee, LLC on Oct. 9, 2020 filed an answer to Kirkley’s complaint, denying any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, City officials continue with outreach efforts in attempts to facilitate a new buyer for the property.
