City shows photos from controversial inspections at Pini properties

Photographs of bugs, rooms in disrepair and maintenance issues at properties owned by Santa Barbara landlord Dario Pini have been released by Santa Barbara officials. This comes after a city funded, court ordered inspection of 164 sites.

Police were present as inspectors, including fire officials, looked over sites said to be part of a long list of complaints about unsafe living conditions. The city said tenants were cooperative,and at times helpful on some of the issues inspectors were looking for. A news release also said half of the properties had children as residents.

Using warrants for the inspections, thousands of photos were taken. They will be evaluated and more actions could be taken by the city including fines, or the”red tag” of buildings. The city said 12 people were relocated this week due to unsafe conditions.

Pini says his Ala Mar Motel had a red tag due to the gas line that was not at the appropriate code size. It has been changed and the property has been cleared for occupancy.

He also says pest control service has been reordered for all of the sites.

On the issue of children, Pini says he rents to families and at times they have extended relatives staying with them. He says impacts can sometimes go beyond the normal use from the original tenants who moved in.

One of the photos also shows a room being used for storage of sinks, toilets and other items. Pini says that is underneath a house in a designated space, and not inside a property where people are living.

The city’s pre release and photos only showed sites out of compliance.

Early this week, NewsChannel 3 arrived at an inspection site and showed the process from a nearby location. Camera shots also showed rooms and buildings that were not cited or involved in any violations.