The Santa Ana City Council is set to consider on Tuesday, April 15, whether the city attorney should ask a court to declare three businesses a nuisance, complaining about unchecked illegal drug activity at their properties.
The Police Department has repeatedly responded to calls in the last few years at the two motels and a restaurant in the same one-block stretch of First Street east of Grand Avenue, city staffers say in a report to the City Council.
The motels, the Royal Roman Motel and the Royal Grand Inn, are across the street from each other and the restaurant space, which officials identified as Mariscos El Tapatio y Antojitos, according to city records, is next to one of the motels.
“Over the past three years, these properties have been the source of a staggering number of calls for service by the Santa Ana Police Department. Since 2022, there have been 765 calls for service at the Royal Roman Motel, 584 calls for service at the Royal Grand Motel, and 92 calls for service at El Tapatio,” the staff report said. “Many of the calls for service involve the investigation and enforcement of narcotics violations that have taxed police resources.”
Owners the city listed for the properties and businesses could either not be located or reached for comment.
Santa Ana Councilmember David Penaloza said the “blight” on First Street has existed and impacted residents for years, with complaints of open drug use, prostitution, vandalism and battery.
“We’ve accumulated hard evidence we can now present to a court and say, ‘Help us here,’” Penaloza said, alleging the property owners have been absentee landlords. “The only way that we could eventually get them to address the nuisance that their properties bring is by going this route with the court.”
While opening new parks, expanding libraries and installing new bus benches should excite residents, Penaloza said he often hears frustration instead.
“I’ve heard it in every language. Why are you opening a new park? Look at how First Street looks. We just want the mess on First Street cleaned up,” he said. “So we’re going full steam ahead, hoping to get it done.”
To “preserve public safety,” the city attorney’s office wants to seek the authority to potentially get a temporary restraining order, a closure order for up to one year, civil penalties up to $25,000 per defendant and the appointment of a receiver to take control of the properties and possibly sell the properties to responsible owners.