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CITY SAYS OWNERS IGNORING STAIR PROBLEM APARTMENT COMPLEX LANDLORDS MAY FACE DATE IN COURT.


Byline: Joseph Giordono Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969.  - Owners of a Deacon deacon: see orders, holy.

DEACON - Direct English Access and CONtrol. English-like query system. Sammet 1969, p.668.
 Street apartment complex might face legal action for ignoring orders to re-install handrails on staircases in several buildings, city officials said Thursday.

The Vista Meadows Homeowners Association could be taken to court by the city's Code Enforcement Code Enforcement is the act of enforcing a set of s, principles, or laws (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norms or customs. An authority usually enforces a civil code, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to  Division if building code violations in several buildings are not remedied, officials said.

Vista Meadows management has so far failed to respond to letters sent Aug. 1 and on Tuesday by the Building and Safety Division, said Supervising Building Inspector The following articles relate to the topic of building inspector:
  • Building Inspector (United Kingdom)
  • Building inspection
 Dave Austin.

``It is pretty common and unfortunate that building owners don't respond to the letters,'' Austin said. ``Sadly enough, it usually takes someone getting hurt before they really start paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences"
attentiveness, heed, regard
.''

Vista Meadows management declined comment.

Diane Jones, director of the Code Enforcement Division, said the threat of legal action usually convinces owners to rectify any problems.

``We only have about six to eight cases a year go to court, and even then the fines are not what is important to us. It is that they are coming into compliance,'' Jones said.

According to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3.
 the Aug. 1 letter from the Building and Safety Division, an inspection of the four Vista Meadows buildings found violations of the city's Uniform Building Code.

The letter ordered handrails to be installed the full length of the stairs within 30 days. As of Tuesday, Austin said, no work had been done.

The lack of handrails is a serious code violation and unless they are immediately re-installed and inspected, the letter said, the buildings will be deemed substandard substandard,
adj below an acceptable level of performance.
.

Austin said the rails most likely had been removed at some point, because the building would not have passed code the first time without them.

Rose Young, a former resident of Vista Meadows, said she slipped on the stairs in her building on July 2, and notified apartment management several times about safety concerns.

``The danger was brought up to the apartment management several times, and they never did anything about it,'' she said. ``I suppose they need to be taught a lesson, and unfortunately it took people getting hurt for it to come to that point.''

According to Young, several other people have fallen as well, including neighbors, postal workers A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union - NPMHU and the American Postal Workers Union, part of the AFL-CIO.  and delivery people.

Young, who moved into Deacon complex in October 1999 filed the original complaint soon after her fall. She has since moved to another complex in Simi Valley.

Building inspectors investigated the claim shortly after the accident and filed the report saying the stairs did not have proper traction and required railings on both sides.
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Copyright 2000, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Sep 15, 2000
Words:429
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