Chino Hills Maternity Hotel Court Judgment Issued

In a short blurb in this morning's Los Angeles Times, it was reported that a filing in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Monday indicated that the operator of the "maternity hotel" in Chino Hills has agreed to stop running the Los Angeles Hermas Hotel.

Moreover, Hai Wong Yu also consented to fixing all code violations that were made during the course of renovations of the house, which included 17 bedrooms and bathrooms, with exposed electric wires and insufficent smoke alarms being the ones mentioned in the article.

As noted previously, the operation of the business appeared to have stopped a couple of months ago once exposure of the business (including a large amount of sewage that overwhelmed the septic system not intended for the number of people using it and spilled down from the hillside property and into storm drains) had attracted the attention of neighbors, who then formed an ad-hoc civic group called "Not in Chino Hills," and then the city stepped in to obtain an cease-and-desist injunction after a property inspection revealed numerous violations of city ordinances.

The outcome of the Monday hearing was a "stipulated judgment," in which both sides mutually agree to a conclusion of the matter without resorting to a trial based on either a civil suit or criminal charge.  Key to this is that the defendant (in this case, Yu) had already ended the behavior cited by the plaintiff (the City of Chino Hills) as the grounds for taking the matter to the courts and agrees to have the court issue a final and binding judgment, also called a "consent decree."  Notably, if the defendant were to resume the activity which led to the judgment or fail to meet the conditions established in the filing (such as remedying the violations of code), a filing for contempt could be filed which might then lead to a garnishment of wages or a lien on the property.

It seems obvious that the house will not only have to be brought back to conformation with code, but be retooled for its intended residential use (after all, its septic system can only handle so much.)  Perhaps Yu will do the minimum and then try to sell the property as-is.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the short-lived hotel that tried to operate under the radar but was halted due to the watchful eyes of its neighbors, whose diligence and determination led to a successful conclusion.

UPDATE, 15 February 2013:  As expected, a longer, more thorough article on the recent court judgment in the Los Angeles Hermas Hotel case appeared in tomorrow's edition of the Champion as reported by Marianne Napoles. 

Specifically, the court order gave property owner Hai Wong Yu seven months to correct nine code violations with the structure, including insufficient septic system capacity for the 17 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms in the residence, a lack of emergency exits for the bedrooms, the illegal construction of the added bedrooms and bathrooms, required clearance for combustible items, necessary ventilation, code-mandated smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and dealing with exposed electrical wires.  The property is not to be occupied in any way until all of these corrections are made.

With regards to the condition of the judgment disallowing any use of the property for commercial reasons, the grassroots group "Not in Chino Hills," as stated in the Champion article, remains skeptical that the court filing will keep Yu from operating a "maternity hotel" under the guise of having house guests there, because, they argue, he will be able to keep the additional rooms and general infrastructure that would support a continuing illicit use of the house. 

The group's Web site (click here), however, albeit in confusingly-rendered wording including a reference to 19 February, which is not quite here yet, expresses concern about the fact that Yu would not have to return the structure to its as-built 7 bedrooms and 6 1/2 bathrooms, but says nothing about his resuming the "maternity hotel."  That particular concern came in two statements by local residents interviewed for the article.

In reply, Chino Hills City Attorney Mark Hensley stated that the clarity of the judgment with regards to any intended commercial use of the property is unmistakable and that the requirement for emergency exits will force Yu to reduce the number of bedrooms (his attorney and representative had stated in early January that he advised just that).  Hensley was quoted as saying that, "I feel very comfortable that the likelihood of the facility being used for illegal purposes is incredibly low."

It seems likely, in any case, that neighboring residents will be keeping a very close eye on the property in the future!

 

Chino Hills Maternity Hotel Restraining Order

UPDATE, 18 January: Tomorrow's edition of the Champion reported that the court hearing held yesterday regarding the "Los Angeles Hermas Hotel" and requiring property owners Hai Yong Wu and Yi Wang to appear and explain why a temporary order closing the facility and prohibiting any further changes to the house ended without the owners making an appearance.  Wu was said to still be in China, so the new judge Keith Davis, granted a 30-day extension on the hearing, now scheduled for 19 February.

In last week's Champion, it was reported by reporter Marianne Napoles that a 27 December temporary restraining order, banning further construction and remodeling as well as operating of a hotel in violation of Chino Hills city codes, was issued by a county judge preventing the "maternity hotel" that has been operating on a hilltop house overlooking the east end of the Carbon Canyon corridor from continuing business.

Property owners Hai Yong Wu and Yi Wang were ordered to appear before the court this coming week, on 17 January, to contest the issuance of the injunction.  Meanwhile, Napoles noted that the residence in which the "Los Angeles Hermas Hotel" [it would be interesting, maybe, to know what "Hermas" refers to, given that its usual connotation is as a given name and there is an old Christian tale about a "Shepherd of Hermas"] had been operating has been vacant for several weeks.

A Frank Smith, Wu's representative was quoted by Napoles as saying that Wu was working with the City to address code violation issues and suggested that the house was actually in compliance with city codes because of its floor plan and that any work done did not require removal.  Rather, Smith claimed, he recommended vacating the structure because of the issue of inadequate septic system capacity. 

And, yet, if the maintenance of the fundamental floor plan alone is justifiable by Smith's interesting application of logic, then any alterations to the plan that overload the septic system's capacity is somehow logically disconnected even though the added bathrooms within the floor plan were connected to the overburdened septic tank?

For a 5 January Los Angeles Times article on this, click here.  Another Times piece on maternity hotels generally and referring to the Chino Hills example can be found here and there is a further link embedded in that article to a fuller version that appeared in the 3 January print edition.

A Chino Hills Chinese Maternity Hotel Controversy

See the end of this post for December updates . . .

Early this month, in its edition of 3 November, the Chino Hills Champion ran an article from reporter Marianne Napoles about a sprawling 7,000-square foot house on ten acres overlooking Carbon Canyon Road near Chino Hills Parkway, in which, since this past March, a facility calling itself the "Los Angeles Hermas Hotel" is housing pregnant women from China who pay $5,000 to $15,000 per month to fly into the area; stay at the "hotel" and units at the Green Valley Apartments downslope from the mansion; use shuttle services to and from their "hotels;" give birth in a Monterey Park hospital; recuperate for a month at the "hotel;" and then return home, but with a child that is an American citizen.  The house, which attracted some attention, because its previous owner, Julie Sa, sought to subdivide the parcel for four additional units, was bought in 2011 by Hai Wong Yu.  Further attention was generated in the late winter when nearby residents noticed groups of expecting Chinese women walking through the neighborhood and cars shuttling to and from the "hotel" to the Green Valley Apartments.

A Chinese Web site, www.asiamchild.com, (click here to visit the site, which, obviously, is in Chinese, though you can try a translation function that may or may not help in understanding the site's content) promotes the enterprise, which at those prices clearly is available to the rapidly-growing well-to-do of mainland China.  The 3 November article stated that a previously-operating site advised its clients to seek a "tourism" visa and then travel in the early stages (before the ladies start "showing"), so as to avoid scrutiny.  The site promotes visits to regional tourist attractions and spells out manifold benefits to having U.S.-born babies, who, as citizens, are eligible for free public education through high school, in-state tuition fees at colleges and universities, low-interest education loans, high-paying jobs, Social Security benefits, and so forth.  Not surprisingly, the original site was taken down and a redirection was made to the current one.

Notably, no one in city government was aware of the existence of this enterprise, of which variants are found throughout the United States and emanating from China and other countries.  Since then, Napoles has followed up with updated reporting, just about each week, including one in tomorrow's 1 December edition.

In the newest piece, the City of Chino Hills, rebuffed in a request to inspect the home, received a court order to inspect the residence, did so last week and is now prepared to issue a cease-and-desist order after checking for violations of city code.  From a criminal law perspective, a review by the Chino Hills Police Department found that no illegal activity was being conducted in the operation of the "hotel."

It was determined in September that extensive renovations were conducted without permits and, more noticeably, 2,000 gallons of raw sewage leaked from the property and contaminated a storm drain back.  Because of its location, like those in Carbon Canyon, the house is on a septic system and it was reported that Wu hired a company to clean the tank every day, whereas most owners of properties with septic might do so every few years.

Curiously, Wu's attorney, Add Smith, who first claimed his client had relatives staying with him at the house and that he had no knowledge of the use of the house as a "maternity hotel," later expressed a bland conclusion that the property owner needed to address the laws of the city and state.  As it turned out, however, Smith has also, along with his son, been the building and planning consultants for the "hotel"!  It would not appear that Wu has received adequate consultation or counsel from Smith, who has been evidently "confused" about the project he has been paid to advise on from both legal and operational standpoints!

Last week's review of the property uncovered more violations of code  City attorney Mark Hensley explained that, within a couple of weeks, that order would be issued and noted that the case was quite strong for a code enforcement prosecution.  At the same time, Hensley cautioned the city and its officers and staff from getting involved in "political" elements surrounding the case.  Specifically, this meant council member attendance and commentary in and among the community regarding the "hotel" and its operations.

This is because there has been a groundswell of activity from local residents in recent weeks, including discussions between concerned residents at city and police officials on the 8th; a town hall meeting on the 17th with Assembly member Curt Hagman; the formation of a new grassroots organization calling itself notinchinohills.org (click here to visit the site); a meeting held two days ago at the house of former school board member and recently-defeated city council candidate Rossanna Mitchell; and a public protest to be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the corner of Peyton Drive and Chino Hills Parkway.

Mitchell has, in fact, been getting plenty of media exposure of late, including interviews on KABC's television news program and the show of the controversial radio duo John and Ken of KFI, both airing just today.  It is perhaps not a coincidence that Mitchell is running again for council in the Spring special election for the recently-vacated seat of Bill Kruger.

Predictably, the outcry on this whole episode takes on many dimensions.  Some decry the use of a commercial endeavor in a residential neighborhood.  Others lament the "anchor baby" or "maternity tourism" component as a manipulation of 14th Amendment citizenship rights.  A few have expressed concern about speeding shuttles through the area's streets and the sewage overflow into the neighborhood.  And, there are those who cite all these and probably other reasons.

The "Not in Chino Hills" Web site is rather vague about its purposes, stating:

We are concerned Chino Hills residents that want to preserve our family oriented community. We want to continue to enjoy our beautiful city and we welcome everyone. But to preserve what we cherish we must also protect our city.

Our mission is to keep a vigilant eye and use all our efforts necessary to do so. We are a grassroot organization who will organize and rally behind a cause that will serve the families of Chino Hills.

Yet, nowhere on the site is there anything specific about the grounds that exist to "protect our city" and "our family-oriented community" with "a vigilant eye" from the "maternity hotel."

Regardless of the moral, ethical and political issues involved, the only response the city can take is on the legal question of code violations and the use of the property relative to its zoning.  Assembly member Hagman did state that the lack of a business license was tantamount to tax evasion, which was a matter for the state Franchise Tax Board to deal with.

As City Attorney Hensley stated, further developments should come to light soon about the city's order for the "hotel" to cease operations under current conditions.  What comes beyond that will be interesting to observe. 

UPDATE, 4 December:  The San Gabriel Valley Tribune has weighed in on the maternity "hotel" matter in its today's edition editorial pages, as can be seen here.  Whether its call for county, state and federal intervention is heeded will be something to watch in upcoming weeks and months.

UPDATE, 5 December:  Another article from the San Bernardino Sun on this maternity "hotel" issue and reporting on another community meeting sponsored by the "Not in Chino Hills" group can be found here.

UPDATE, 10 December.  And, there's more from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin about the general issue of "maternity tourism," as contained here.  In the same issue is an allegation of another "maternity hotel" site in the Grand Pointe gated community, as found here.  A couple of days back is this piece (click here) in which city officials comment on the "Not in Chino Hills" group's activities.  And, if you can't get enough, there's more:  try here and here and more on the general issue related to the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is here.

UPDATE, 17 December: The Champion, with reporter Marianne Napoles continuing her in-depth coverage of this issue, had more interesting information in last Saturday's (15 December) issue.  A court-ordered inspection of the interior of the "hotel" took place after several attempts by police and city officials were rejected by the property owner. 

The unannounced visit, on 19 November, revealed that the house, built in the mid-1970s with 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, was illegally converted to 17 (yes, 17) of each.  10 of the rooms were occupied and one woman there stated that she was paying $150 a day, even though there were a host of unsafe conditions in the structure, including exposed electrical wires, insufficient bathroom ventilation, areas of rooms without sufficient flooring, non-habitable spaces converted to rooms, food served without county health permits, and etc. 

In addition, the property was using 4,000 gallons of water a day, but with a septic system only to designed to handle 1,500.  Employees did not have work permits, but were on travel visas and there were no doctors or nurses at the site, according to an affidavit by a former employee.  This for a "hotel" for pregnant women (with their newborns) paying hefty sums for the privilege of living in a residence nowhere near up to code.

Chino Hills City Attorney Mark Hensley has requested a cease-and-desist order from the court, requiring that the business shut down its operations.  From there, who knows what will be done regarding illegalities germane to the "hotel"'s operations.