Loading...
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.
Home
My WebLink
About
Item 11a - Business License Revocation
DATE: November 16, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director Lisa Flores, Planning & Community Development Administrator Prepared By: Amber Abeyta, Business License Officer SUBJECT: Appeal of the Business Permit and License Review Board’s Decision to Revoke the Business License for Saybrook Media Group Inc. at 529 Las Tunas Drive and if the decision is to uphold the Board’s decision, adopt Resolution No. 7394. Recommendation: Adopt SUMMARY The Appellant, Attorney Mr. Ron Betty, on behalf of Saybrook Media Group Inc., (herein referred to as “Saybrook”), has filed an appeal of the decision made by the Business Permit and License Review Board (“Board”) to uphold the revocation of their business license. The City revoked Saybrook’s business license after it was determined that the business was not in compliance with their approved use, which is general office only, and that the business was being utilized as a residence, which is not a permitted use on this property. In accordance with Arcadia Municipal Code (“AMC”) Section 6216.90 – Appeal to the City Council, it is recommended that the City Council consider the findings and recommendations of the Board and adopt them in total by adopting Resolution No. 7394 – refer to Attachment No. 1. This would have the effect of denying the appeal and upholding the revocation of Saybrook’s business license. BACKGROUND After a thorough investigation, on July 28, 2021, the business license was revoked by the Business License Officer for two reasons: (1) Saybrook had partially converted their approved floor plan and use from required storage and office use to residential use, which is in violation of Saybrook’s business license Conditions of Approval, and (2) the overnight stay/residential use of the subject property within the C-O Zone is prohibited under the AMC Development Code and is in violation of Section 6216.7 of the Arcadia Municipal Code. Resolution No. 7394 – Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive November 16, 2021 Page 2 of 3 Saybrook timely appealed this decision. On September 28, 2021, a public hearing was held before the Board to consider the appeal, at which time Saybrook was provided a full opportunity to be heard and to present evidence in opposition to the revocation. Saybrook was represented by counsel at the hearing, and several witnesses spoke on its behalf. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board unanimously voted to uphold the revocation. The decision of the Board was 4-0, with one member absent, to deny the appeal and revoke the business license. In addition, the decision included that Saybrook not be allowed to apply for a new business license for the next 12 months. Please note that Saybrook has been allowed to continue to operate their business until final action has been taken on their Appeal. Subsequent to the Board’s decision, Saybrook again filed a timely appeal to the City Council. The purpose of this agenda item is to consider this appeal. Arcadia Municipal Code Section 6216.90 provides the City Council with different procedural options to consider a decision of the Board. Specifically, the City Council may hold a completely new hearing or may simply review the findings made by the Board. At the conclusion of either process, the City Council may uphold, amend, modify, or reject the findings. The relevant part of the Code reads as follows: “…The City Council shall consider the findings and recommendations of the Board and may adopt them in total, hold a de novo hearing, or the City Council may amend, modify or reject the recommended decision of the Board. In addition, the City Council may send the findings and recommendations back to the Board with instructions to rehear any relevant matter not previously heard and then resubmit additional amended or modified findings to the City Council. The City Council may revoke, amend or modify the license, or impose such other or further reasonable terms, conditions or restrictions on the terms, condition or restrictions theretofore placed on said license as the City Council finds reasonable or necessary to ensure that the business enterprise, occupation or activity will not be contrary to or inimical to or jeopardize the preservation of the public peace, safety or welfare of the City or its inhabitants, or be detrimental to other properties or businesses in its vicinity. The City Council may also prevent the holder of a revoked or suspended license from applying for a new license within one year or such other certain, specified, reasonable time period as the City Council deems prudent. The decision of the City Council shall be final.” DISCUSSION Given the process outlined in the Code, and Saybrook’s full opportunity to be heard and to present evidence in opposition to the revocation at the prior hearing before the Board, it is recommended that the City Council review the established record in this case and review for error the decision of the Board. Attached for your review is the staff report Resolution No. 7394 – Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive November 16, 2021 Page 3 of 3 packet (attachments included) that was presented to the Board at its September 28, 2021, meeting (Attachment No. 3), and the transcription of the Board’s meeting minutes (Attachment No. 4). The recommended process is to allow the City’s representative to provide comments on the record and context for the Board’s decision, to allow a representative from the Appellant’s team to present as well, and to allow time for rebuttal. If the City Council wishes to hold a de novo hearing on this matter for any reason, the item would be rescheduled for such a hearing at a date in the future. The facts, conclusions, and recommendations submitted in the Staff Report and attachments for the September 28, 2021, hearing remain unchanged and were further supported by testimony and other information provided during the Board’s appeal hearing. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council deny the appeal and uphold the decision to revoke Saybrook’s business. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council determine that this action is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and adopt Resolution No. 7394, denying the appeal and upholding the Business Permit and License Review Board’s decision in the revocation of the business license for Saybrook Media Group Inc. at 529 Las Tunas Drive. Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No. 7394 Attachment No. 2 – Appeal Letter Attachment No. 3 – September 28, 2021 Business Permit and License Review Board Staff Report and Attachments Attachment No. 4 – Minutes of the September 28, 2021, Business Permit and License Review Board Meeting Attachment No. 1 Resolution No. 7394 Attachment No. 1 Attachment No. 2 Attachment No. 2 Appeal Letter Attachment No. 3 Attachment No. 3 September 28, 2021 Business Permit and License Review Board V Staff Report and Attachments DATE: September 28, 2021 TO: Business Permit and License Review Board FROM: Lisa Flores, Planning & Community Development Administrator By: Amber Abeyta, Business License Officer SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 2081 – DENYING THE APPEAL AND UPHOLDING THE REVOCATION OF THE BUSINESS LICENSE FOR SAYBROOK MEDIA GROUP INC., LOCATED AT 529 LAS TUNAS DRIVE Recommendation: Adopt SUMMARY The Appellant and business owner of Saybrook Media Group Inc., (herein referred to as “Saybrook”) Mr. Maximilian Lobkowicz, is appealing the City’s decision to revoke the business license on July 28, 2021. The City revoked Saybrook’s business license after it was determined that the business is not in compliance with their approved use, which is general office only, and the business was being utilized as a residence, which is not a permitted use on this property. On August 9, 2021, the Appellant filed an appeal - refer to Attachment No. 1. It is recommended that the Business Permit and License Review Board adopt Resolution No. 2081, denying the appeal and uphold the business license revocation for the business, Saybrook, that is located at 529 Las Tunas Drive and this business owner may not be allowed to apply for another business license within this City for 12 months. BACKGROUND On January 7, 2020, the City issued a business license to Saybrook to operate an office use which consist of archiving and cataloging years’ worth of internally generated files, print, media and memorabilia, storing the materials and professional office usage within the one-story building that is located at 529 Las Tunas Drive. The subject commercial building is approximately 7,055 square feet in size, and is zoned C-O, Professional Office. The C-O zone is intended to provide sites for development as administrative, financial, business, professional, medical and general offices. According to the Los Angeles County Assessor’s database, the commercial building is owned by Hot Kid LLC in c/o Anne W. Yeh. The property owner was copied on all the Notice of Violations and correspondence from the City related to this business. Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive September 28, 2021 Page 2 of 5 On April 14, 2021, the Arcadia Police Department (“APD”) was contacted by an individual (via telephone and in-person) attempting to register his residence as a sex offender who informed APD that he lived at the business location of Saybrook’s since April 10, 2021. According to the registrant, Saybrook also operates a phone sex business for the Dr. Susan Block Institute (the Appellant’s wife), and that him and several others that works for Saybrook also lived there as well. Since residential use of the subject property is not allowed per the City’s zoning regulations for C-O, Professional Office, APD informed the registrant that he could not register the subject property as his residence. Subsequently, City staff found proof of an online advertisement – refer to Attachment No. 2 for a job at Saybrook for a “live-in” position. The job advertisement included photographs of the subject property including the kitchen, shower, bedroom with a bed, and a laundry facility. Based on this information, it was determined that Saybrook was unlawfully using the subject property for residential activity in violation of its zoning regulations. In addition, a sex phone business is considered an “adult business” use that is prohibited in every zone except the M-1 Zone and requires an Adult Business Regulatory Permit. As a result, a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) was issued on April 20, 2021 – refer to Attachment No. 3 citing that the business has expanded partially or wholly converted to another business without the required City approval or permits. The NOV gave Saybrook until May 3, 2021 to remove any business unrelated to the approved office use. The Appellant informed the City that his wife is a therapist (the business owner of Dr. Susan Block Institute) and was not operating her business out of this building. He admitted that all Saybrook’s employees, including himself stay overnight at the subject site for several days a week due to work deadlines. In addition, when the Appellant was informed of the online advertisement for a job at Saybrook for a “live-in” position he did not deny the online advertisement and explained that it was not intended for a permanent “live-in” position, but a position to stay overnight for a few days out of the week. Furthermore, on May 3, 2021, the Appellant informed the City that Saybrook is not in violation of any Arcadia ordinances. Since the Appellant confirmed that the building was being used for overnight stay and acknowledged the online advertisement for a job for a “live-in” position at Saybrook, which is not allowed, an NOV was issued by the City on June 2, 2021 to correct this violation immediately and that they must cease and desist use of the property for any overnight stays since the business license was approved strictly for office use only – refer to Attachment No. 4. The NOV cited several code sections from the City’s Development Code stating that overnight stay is not allowed on this subject site and within this office building. On June 15, 2021, in response to the NOV the appellant informed the City that Saybrook is not in violation of the any City’s Codes. On July 22, 2021, in order to confirm whether Saybrook abated the AMC violation of residential use, which isn’t allowed in the zone for the subject property, the City served Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive September 28, 2021 Page 3 of 5 the Appellant an Inspection Warrant, and an inspection was conducted that day – refer to Attachment No. 5. Additionally, the Warrant authorized City staff to photograph or videotape the inspection for the purpose of preserving evidence of violations of the Arcadia Municipal Code. During the inspection, it was discovered that the business has ten (10) rooms that were being used as bedrooms – refer to Attachment No. 6 and contained other evidence of unlawful residential use of the property. As a result, Saybrook was informed by certified mail on July 28, 2021 – refer to Attachment No. 7, that their business license was revoked. DISCUSSION Pursuant to Section 6216.7 of the Arcadia Municipal Code, the Business License Officer may suspend or revoke any business license upon receipt of any of the following information: x The business has been expanded, or partially or wholly converted to another business, without the required City approvals and permits; or x The business has violated, or permitted to be violated, any federal, State, or local law applicable to the premises or business; or x The business has, in the conduct of the same or any similar business, engaged in conduct detrimental to the public welfare. a. Conduct detrimental to the public welfare includes, but is not limited to, operations or activities that do not comport with the peace, health, safety and convenience of the public. b. Examples of conduct detrimental to the public welfare include, but are not limited to: (a) operating a business prohibited by local or State law, or (b) “allowing” activities that are or become a public nuisance. Though the burden of proof is not expressly stated in the City’s ordinance, the preponderance of the evidence standard generally applies to all civil and administrative matters unless another higher degree of proof is imposed by statute. The preponderance-of-the-evidence standard requires that City staff must persuade the Board that, by the evidence presented in this Staff Report and any evidence presented at the hearing, that what City staff is required to prove is more likely to be true than not true. Stated another way, the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard simply requires the Board to believe that the existence of a fact is more probable than its nonexistence. Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive September 28, 2021 Page 4 of 5 Under AMC Section 6216.7, the Business License Officer has broad discretion to revoke or suspend a business license. In this case, Saybrook’s business license has been revoked for two independent reasons: 1. Saybrook’s business license was conditionally approved as office use only. One of the conditions of approval was that the rooms were to be maintained as office space and storage for the office use, as outlined on the business license application, business license certificate and floor plan refer to - Attachment No. 8. Many of the room were used as bedrooms for “overnight stay”; therefore, violation of the conditions of approval of said license is grounds for revocation according to AMC Section 6216.7(3), as stated above. 2. The subject business address is zoned C-O Professional Office. The C-O zone is intended to provide sites for development as administrative, financial, business, professional, medical and governmental offices (Development Code Section, 9102.03.010.). Residential uses are prohibited in the C-O zone (Development Code Section 9102.03.020.). The City has a permissive zoning code, so only expressly permitted uses are allowed. Residential uses are not listed as a permitted use in the C-O zone (Development Code Section 9102.03.020, Table 2-8.) Therefore, they are prohibited unless the Development Services Department Director makes a finding that they are sufficiently similar to an expressly permitted use as to be allowed on the same basis in accordance with Development Code Section 9102.03.020(B). No such finding has been made. Therefore, your residential use of the subject property within the C-O zone is prohibited under the AMC Development Code and is in violation of the City’s Zoning Ordinance applicable to the premises where the business covered by said license is conducted, which is grounds for revocation of Saybrook’s business license in accordance with AMC Section 6216.7(3). The City has met the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard with respect to each ground above. Saybrook has been allowed to continue to operate their business until action has been taken on their Appeal. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Business Permit and License Review Board adopt Resolution No. 2081, denying the appeal and uphold the decision to revoke the City’s business license for Saybrook Media Group, Inc. and that Saybrook’s employees, agents, partners, directors, officers, controlling stockholders or managers not be allowed to apply for a new business license in the City of Arcadia for a period of 12 months from the date of this revocation. Business License Revocation Saybrook Media Group, Inc. – 529 Las Tunas Drive September 28, 2021 Page 5 of 5 If any of the Business License and Review Board Members or other interested party has any questions or comments regarding this matter prior to the September 28, 2021, hearing, please contact Business License Officer, Amber Abeyta, at (626) 574-5437, or by email at aabeyta@ArcadiaCA.gov . Approved: Lisa L. Flores Planning & Community Development Administrator Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No. 2081 Attachment No. 2 - Appeal Letter Attachment No. 3 – Job Advertisement Attachment No. 4 – Notice of Violation Issued April 20, 2021 Attachment No. 5 – Notice of Violation Issued June 2, 2021 Attachment No. 6 – Inspection Warrant Attachment No. 7 – Pictures of Rooms and Business Premises Attachment No. 8 – Business License Revocation Letter dated July 28, 2021 Attachment No. 9 – Saybrook’s Business License Application, Business License Certificate and Floor Plan %/5%Attachment No. 1 Attachment No. 1 Resolution No. 2081 %/5%Attachment No. 2 Attachment No. 2 Appeal Letter %/5%Attachment No. 3 Attachment No. 3 Job Advertisement %/5%Attachment No. 4 Attachment No. 4 Notice of Violation Issued April 20, 2021 %/5%Attachment No. 5 Attachment No. 5 Notice of Violation Issued June 2, 2021 %/5%Attachment No. 6 Attachment No. 6 Inspection Warrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 55575.18155\33367803.1 –1– INSPECTION WARRANT STEPHEN P. DEITSCH, Bar No. 089318 stephen.deitsch@bbklaw.com BRANDON A. SANCHEZ, Bar No. 300718 brandon.sanchez@bbklaw.com BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP 2855 E. Guasti Road, Suite 400 Ontario, California 91761 Telephone: (909) 989-8584 Facsimile: (909) 944-1441 Attorneys for Applicant CITY OF ARCADIA EXEMPT FROM FILING FEES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 6103. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES—NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT GLENDALE COURTHOUSE IN THE MATTER OF THE INSPECTION OF: 529 LAS TUNAS DRIVE, ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA 91007 APN: 5787-024-021 Warrant No.: ____________________ [PROPOSED] INSPECTION WARRANT [Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1822.50–1822.60.] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 55575.18155\33367803.1 –2– INSPECTION WARRANT INSPECTION WARRANT Upon review of the City of Arcadia’s (“City”) Application for Inspection Warrant (“Application”), the Memorandum of Points and Authorities attached thereto, the Declaration of Business License Officer Amber Abeyta, and all other evidence available to the Court, and upon proof being made before me this day that there is probable cause to believe that there are building, fire, safety, plumbing, electrical, health, labor, or zoning code violations on the property located at 529 Las Tunas Drive, Arcadia, California 91007 (“Subject Property”)— THIS INSPECTION WARRANT IS HEREBY DIRECTED to any Code Services Officer, Building and Safety Inspector, Fire Inspector, Environmental Inspector, Planning or Zoning Inspector, Animal Control Officer, Arcadia City Attorney, County Health Inspector, Arcadia Police Officer, and any other individual acting as an agent of the City of Arcadia (“YOU”). YOU ARE HEREBY AUTHORIZED IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE to enter and inspect the Subject Property as authorized by Code of Civil Procedure sections 1822.50 through 1822.60, which shall include the interior and exterior of any open fields, yards, structures, buildings, homes, houses, sheds, garages, and rooms located on or at the Subject Property (“Inspection”). The purpose of this Inspection will be to verify the existence, scope, and extent of any violations of the Arcadia Municipal Code (“AMC”) or other State laws, that exist on the Subject Property. YOU ARE FURTHER AUTHORIZED to photograph or videotape the Inspection for the purpose of preserving evidence of violations of the Arcadia Municipal Code. Any peace officer may accompany the execution of this Inspection Warrant in order to keep the peace and to prevent any interference with the execution of this Inspection Warrant. Any animal control officer may accompany the execution of this Inspection Warrant in order to control or take into custody 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 55575.18155\33367803.1 –3– INSPECTION WARRANT any uncontrolled animal on the premises. YOU ARE FURTHER AUTHORIZED to conduct the Abatement between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. YOU ARE FURTHER AUTHORIZED to conduct the Inspection without providing advance notice of the Inspection. YOU ARE FURTHER AUTHORIZED to conduct the Inspection in the absence of an owner or occupant of the Subject Property because the absence of such persons is reasonably necessary to effectuate this Inspection Warrant. YOU ARE FURTHER AUTHORIZED to use reasonable force, if necessary, to enter the Subject Property, or any structures thereon, to conduct the Inspection on the Subject Property, with the assistance of the Arcadia Police Department or a locksmith. Unless otherwise extended or renewed, this Inspection Warrant shall be effective for a period of 14 days from the date of signature. This Inspection Warrant shall be returned to this Court within 30 days following expiration of the Inspection Warrant. Dated: ________________________ ___________________________________ JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT ___________________ OF THE SUPERIOR C July 13, 2021 %/5%Attachment No. 7 Attachment No. 7 Pictures of Rooms and Business Premises Bedroom #1 Bedroom #2 Bedroom #3 Bedroom #4 Bedroom #5 Bedroom #6 Bedroom #7 Bedroom #8 Bedroom #9 Bedroom #10 Following Pictures are of Other Areas of the Business %/5%Attachment No. 8 Attachment No. 8 Business License Revocation Letter dated July 28, 2021 %/5%Attachment No. 9 Attachment No. 9 Saybrook’s Business License Application, Business License Certificate and Floor Plan ·2 ·3 ·4 ·5 ·6 ·7 ·8 ·9· · · · · · TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO-RECORDED 10· · · · · · · ·SPECIAL MEETING OF THE 11· ·ARCADIA BUSINESS PERMIT & LICENSE REVIEW BOARD 12· · · · · · · · ·SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20· · Litigation Services Job Number: 816232 21 22 23 24 25 Attachment No. 4 Page 2 ·1· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Meeting is called to order. May we ·2· ·have the roll call, please? ·3· · · · FEMALE:· Boardmember Chan -- ·4· · · · MR. CHAN:· Here. ·5· · · · FEMALE:· -- Boardmember Thompson -- ·6· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Here. ·7· · · · FEMALE:· -- Boardmember Tsoi -- ·8· · · · MR. TSOI:· Here. ·9· · · · FEMALE:· -- Vice-Chair Lin, uh, he's not present 10· ·tonight. And Chair Wilander. 11· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Here. Here. Tonight we're having 12· ·a, uh -- this is the Ar- -- Arcadia Business Permit & 13· ·License Review Board, it's a special meeting. We're 14· ·going to be looking at resolution number 2081, denying 15· ·the appeal and uphold the revocation of the business 16· ·license for Saybrook Media Group, Incorporated located 17· ·at 529 Las Tunas Drive. 18· · · · The recommendation is adopt the, um, denying the 19· ·appeal. The appellant is Saybrook Media Group, 20· ·Incorporated. Can we have the staff report, please? 21· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· Thank you. Good evening, Chair and 22· ·board members. As you mentioned, Chair Wilander, 23· ·before you tonight is an appeal of a revocation of a 24· ·business license for Saybrook Media located at 529 Las 25· ·Tunas Drive. Page 3 ·1· · · · Before I give a little bit of background on this ·2· ·business and the reason for the revocation, the main ·3· ·reason is was revoked is because the business was ·4· ·utilizing the building as a residence for overnight ·5· ·stay, which is not allowed within the zone, ·6· ·professional office. They were not in compliance with ·7· ·their approved conditions and floor plans that rooms ·8· ·to be used for office and storage only. ·9· · · · Instead these rooms were set up as bedrooms. To 10· ·give you some background on the business, the business 11· ·license was issued to Saybrook Media Group, Inc. on 12· ·January 7, 2020 for general office use, which consists 13· ·of archiving and cataloguing years' worth internally 14· ·generated files, print, media and memorabilia, storing 15· ·the materials for professional office use. 16· · · · On April 20, 2021, staff received information 17· ·from the Arcadia Police Department that Saybrook was 18· ·using their business location as a residence and to 19· ·operate a sex phone business for the Dr. Susan Block 20· ·Institute. Saybrook's business location is zoned CO 21· ·professional office, which is intended to provide 22· ·sites for development as administrative, financial, 23· ·business professional, medical and general office use. 24· · · · Residential use is not a permitted use for the CO 25· ·professional office zone. Furthermore, a sex phone Page 4 ·1· ·operation is considered an adult business, use that is ·2· ·prohibited in every zone except the M1 zone and ·3· ·requires an adult business regulatory permit. ·4· ·Therefore, a sex phone business is not an allowable ·5· ·use per the CO professional office zone. ·6· · · · In addition, the city found proof of an online ·7· ·advertisement for a job at Saybrook for a live-in ·8· ·position. The job advertisement included photographs ·9· ·of the subject property, including the kitchen, shower 10· ·with a bed and laundry facilities. As a result of the 11· ·information, staff issued Saybrook two notices of 12· ·violations. 13· · · · The first notice of violation that was issued on 14· ·April 20, 2021 cited that Saybrook had at least 15· ·partially expanded to another business without the 16· ·city required approval or permits and was unlawfully 17· ·using the subject property for residential activity, 18· ·which is not a permitted use at their business 19· ·location for the designed zone, CO professional office 20· ·zone. 21· · · · The notice of violation stated that Saybrook was 22· ·required to remove any business unrelated to the 23· ·approved office use. In response to the notice of 24· ·violation, the business owner of Saybrook, Mr. 25· ·Maximilian Lobkowicz, who is the appellant, confirmed Page 5 ·1· ·that the building was being used for overnight stay ·2· ·and acknowledged the online advertisement for a job at ·3· ·Saybrook as a live-in position. ·4· · · · However, the appellant explained that the Dr. ·5· ·Susan Block Institute was his wife's business and that ·6· ·her business was not being operated at Saybrook and ·7· ·that they were not operating a sex phone business. In ·8· ·addition, the appellant stated that Saybrook was not ·9· ·violating any city codes. 10· · · · Based on this information and since the appellant 11· ·confirmed that the building was being used for an 12· ·overnight stay and acknowledged the online 13· ·advertisement for a live-in position in Saybrook, on 14· ·June 2, 2021, a second notice of violation was issued 15· ·to Saybrook. The second notice of violation cited that 16· ·Saybrook must cease and desist use of the property for 17· ·any overnight stay since the business license was 18· ·strictly approved for office use only. 19· · · · In response to the second notice of violation, 20· ·the appellant informed the city that Saybrook is not 21· ·in violation of any city codes. On July 22nd, to 22· ·confirm whether Saybrook had abated the Arcadia 23· ·Municipal Code Violation of residential use, which as 24· ·previously stated, is not allowed in the zone set for 25· ·the subject property, the city served Saybrook with an Page 6 ·1· ·inspection warrant. ·2· · · · An inspection of the business was conducted that ·3· ·day by myself, as the business license officer, a ·4· ·staff member from the code services department, an ·5· ·attorney from the city attorney's office, Mr. Brandon ·6· ·Sanchez, a locksmith to open any locked doors, if ·7· ·necessary, and the Arcadia Police Department who ·8· ·cleared the business premises before staff entered and ·9· ·attend for safety reasons as approved per the 10· ·inspection warrant. 11· · · · During the inspection, it was discovered that 12· ·Saybrook had 10 rooms that were being used in -- as 13· ·bedrooms. This confirmed that one -- um, that Saybrook 14· ·was not resting -- not using a resting area for their 15· ·employees but it was actually someone's home. 16· · · · This discovery con- -- confirmed that one, 17· ·Saybrook partially converted their floor -- approved 18· ·floor plan in use from the required storage and office 19· ·use to overnight stay and residential use of the 20· ·subject property within the CO zone prohibited under 21· ·the AMC Development Code and is in violation of the 22· ·city zoning ordinance applicable to the premises. 23· · · · Saybrook's business license was revoked for those 24· ·two reasons. 25· · · · This concludes my presentation. Staff recommends Page 7 ·1· ·that the business permit and license review board ·2· ·adopt resolution number 2081 denying the appeal and ·3· ·upholding the revocation of the business license for ·4· ·Saybrook, Inc. and that anyone affiliated with ·5· ·Saybrook, as outlined in the resolution, shall not be ·6· ·allowed to apply for a new business license with the ·7· ·city for a period of 12 months from the date of the ·8· ·revocation. ·9· · · · I'm available for any questions as well as the 10· ·city attorney's representation, Mr. Brandon Sanchez. 11· ·Additionally, Detective Carlos Quiroz from the Arcadia 12· ·Police Department, who was here during the inspection, 13· ·is available to answer any questions you have relating 14· ·to the police department's involvement. 15· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Ms. Abeyta. I'll go 16· ·ahead and with the, um -- our board members to see if 17· ·there's, uh, questions. Mr. Tsoi, did you have any 18· ·questions? 19· · · · MR. TSOI:· No. 20· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Mr. Chan? 21· · · · MR. CHAN:· I do. Um, a question to staff, um, if 22· ·I wanted to see some of the pictures again, do I do it 23· ·now or do I do it later? 24· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· Um, if you have a question right 25· ·now, we can go ahead and put that up on the screen for Page 8 ·1· ·staff. ·2· · · · MR. CHAN:· Okay. ·3· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Go ahead and ask the question ·4· ·then, please. ·5· · · · MR. CHAN:· Okay. I don't recall seeing 10 ·6· ·pictures of bedrooms, but if there are 10 pictures -- ·7· ·if there was actually 10, then, um, I have no issues ·8· ·with that. ·9· · · · MS. FLORES:· Amber, it might be faster if you go 10· ·onto the Q drive. She can't access it. Oh, okay. 11· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· Do you want me to go [inaudible]? 12· · · · MS. FLORES:· Can we come back to you, Mr. Chan -- 13· · · · MR. CHAN:· Sure. No problem. 14· · · · MS. FLORES:· -- while we upload that? 15· · · · MR. CHAN:· Yeah. Go ahead. 16· · · · MS. FLORES:· Okay. Thank you. 17· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Okay. Mr. Thompson, did you have 18· ·any questions? 19· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Uh, just one quick question, is it 20· ·-- is it, um, typically to have a second notice of 21· ·violation? Is that a typical or is it just required 22· ·because there was no action taken by the applicant? 23· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· It was typical to make clear the 24· ·issue that we were addressing. We wanted to be sure 25· ·that, um, the issue we were pursuing was the Page 9 ·1· ·residential use only -- ·2· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. Thank you. ·3· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· -- and the violations of the ·4· ·conditions of approval of the business license. ·5· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. Thank you. ·6· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· And if I may, this is Brandon ·7· ·Sanchez, I'm a city prosecutor for the city, uh, just ·8· ·want to make clear that a notice of violation isn't ·9· ·required before proceeding with the business license 10· ·revocation, it was, uh, just, uh, part of the city's 11· ·routine code enforcement steps, um, but it's not 12· ·actually a statutory requirement before we get to this 13· ·stage. 14· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Thank you for that clarification. 15· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. We're -- and I -- I 16· ·don't have any questions of staff, but Ms. Flores is - 17· ·- and, uh -- is looking for the requested pictures and 18· ·we'll wait just a minute. 19· · · · MR. CHAN:· Sorry. 20· · · · MS. FLORES:· It's all right. 21· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Uh, I think it'll be helpful. 22· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Amber, I do have a question -- 23· ·another question, is it okay to have a kitchen in an 24· ·office building setting? 25· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· In this particular location, because Page 10 ·1· ·the kitchen was there and it was implied that it was ·2· ·going to be used as a common area, um, the staff ·3· ·didn't feel the need the kitchen needed to be removed ·4· ·-- ·5· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Mm-hmm. ·6· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· -- but it's not common for most ·7· ·businesses. ·8· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· But it's -- it's not common. But ·9· ·could a business office building have a small kitchen? 10· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· Um, that could be a possibility, but 11· ·I would ask Lisa -- Ms. Lisa Flores to elaborate since 12· ·that's a planning question. 13· · · · MS. FLORES:· I apologize -- I apologize, can you 14· ·repeat that question again? I was -- 15· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· I mean, could a business -- 16· ·because I've been in businesses where sometimes they 17· ·have like a mini kitchen. Uh -- 18· · · · MS. FLORES:· Is, uh -- is the kitchen, is -- is 19· ·that allowed, a kitchenette? 20· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Is it allowed -- is it allowed? 21· · · · MS. FLORES:· Sure. A lot of office buildings have 22· ·that. 23· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. So -- so that is allowed 24· ·then? 25· · · · MS. FLORES:· Right. Page 11 ·1· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. ·2· · · · MS. FLORES:· But that's -- this is -- yeah. The ·3· ·issue is not so much the kitchen -- ·4· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. ·5· · · · MS. FLORES:· -- it's the fact that the rooms were ·6· ·utilized not as office use but as bedrooms. ·7· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. If you can't bring up the ·8· ·pictures, that's fine, I -- I still got a memor- -- I ·9· ·still -- I can still recall them. 10· · · · MS. FLORES:· Okay. Yeah. 11· · · · MR. RUSEN:· The- -- these are the pic- -- 12· · · · MS. FLORES:· It's actually under attachment 13· ·number seven. If the commission wants to refer to the 14· ·photos of the rooms, um, they're all in this -- in the 15· ·planning commission packet. 16· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Okay. 17· · · · MR. RUSEN:· Just to confirm, these are the 18· ·pictures that were attached to the staff report; 19· ·correct? These are not different pictures? 20· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yeah. 21· · · · MS. FLORES:· Yeah. That is correct. 22· · · · MR. RUSEN:· Okay. In that case, we can pull them 23· ·up later, if they can get them up, uh, during 24· ·deliberations. 25· · · · MS. FLORES:· Okay. Page 12 ·1· · · · MR. RUSEN:· You -- you can introduce them -- ·2· · · · MS. WILANDER:· And -- ·3· · · · MS. FLORES:· Yeah. ·4· · · · MR. RUSEN:· -- just as long as it's not new ·5· ·material. ·6· · · · MS. FLORES:· Sorry about that, it's just a big ·7· ·file. So it's going to take a long time. ·8· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Mr. Rusen [ph], for ·9· ·that help. So then we can go ahead -- let me see if 10· ·there's any members of the public who would like to 11· ·speak in opposition to the appeal. 12· · · · MR. RUSEN:· I think we -- you start with the -- 13· ·the floor. 14· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Oh, I'm sorry. The public -- so 15· ·the public hearing is open. Would the appellant -- I'm 16· ·-- I'm -- I need to look at my notes better. The 17· ·public hearing is open. The appellant gets a chance to 18· ·speak first. Please sign in and state your name for 19· ·the record. 20· · · · MR. BETTIE:· Thank you. My name is Ron Bettie. 21· ·I'm appearing on behalf of Saybrook Media, the 22· ·appellant. 23· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Go ahead then, sir. 24· · · · MR. BETTIE:· Thank you. Uh, board members, this 25· ·is a situation where how do you store a bed at a Page 13 ·1· ·property. Uh, Dr. Susan Block's business is well ·2· ·known, she's been in business over 30 years operating, ·3· ·uh, part of her business as bedside chats. There's ·4· ·over 30 years of, uh, public broadcasting, records to ·5· ·support this, Internet records where she hosts these ·6· ·chats from the bedside. ·7· · · · So many of these beds are used from previous sets ·8· ·from previous events in downtown, uh, from other ·9· ·engagements of Dr. Susan Block. Notably, when the 10· ·investigation was done by the Arcadia -- city of 11· ·Arcadia Code Enforcement, no one was detained that 12· ·said they lived at the property. 13· · · · Uh, there's only been one individual that, to my 14· ·knowledge, notified, uh, the appellant as well as code 15· ·enforcement that they were trying to register to live 16· ·at the property and they were explicitly told at that 17· ·time by the appellant, no, that's not okay, you can't 18· ·live at the property. Uh, the appellant, at all times, 19· ·has maintained that no one lives at the property. 20· · · · They operate a business where they're working 21· ·24/7, they're updating a website, they're doing an 22· ·online YouTube show, but there's no phone sex business 23· ·operated at the business. Uh, no one lives at the 24· ·business, no one resides permanently at the business, 25· ·uh, which isn't to say that, you know, how does one, Page 14 ·1· ·at an office, take a break. ·2· · · · Are you allowed to sit in your chair and sleep on ·3· ·a desk? Uh, do you have a break room where you sleep ·4· ·on a couch? Or if you're a business that hosts, uh, ·5· ·chats from the bedside, can you sleep on a bed for a ·6· ·couple minutes a day? There's nothing in the code that ·7· ·addresses that. There's nothing illegal, to my mind, ·8· ·that would raise an issue. ·9· · · · Uh, really, what we have here are pictures of 10· ·beds in rooms. We don't have any evidence of anyone 11· ·actually living at the unit. We don't have any 12· ·evidence of, uh, people registering the unit as their 13· ·domicile. 14· · · · The one thing that the city points to is the ad 15· ·on the Internet for a live-work unit and I believe my 16· ·client explained pretty well, actually, in their 17· ·letter to the board that live-work, it doesn't mean, 18· ·in his mind, that you live at the property, it means 19· ·more so that, you know, you have this environment 20· ·where you're working 24/7, if you're tired, you can 21· ·sleep at the -- you know, on a couch, on a bed or your 22· ·desk for an hour or something like that, but no one's 23· ·living at the unit. 24· · · · Um, and I would actually be happy to have, uh, 25· ·Ms. Block -- Dr. Susan Block explain to you further on Page 15 ·1· ·the nature of her business that there's no phone sex ·2· ·business being operated at this property, that is ·3· ·explicitly for their Internet operations and trying to ·4· ·open a podcast, get a podcast going, uh, which I ·5· ·believe are all business uses approved by the city of ·6· ·Arcadia. ·7· · · · Uh, I could also present more evidence, if the ·8· ·board would prefer to see it, from Mr. Maximilian who ·9· ·is there on the day-to-day that is running the 10· ·business. Uh, I also have the personal assistant of 11· ·the landlord who will explain to the board that these 12· ·tenants have been nothing but a dream. 13· · · · They've paid their rent consistently, they've 14· ·always been quiet, there's never been any complaints 15· ·from any neighbors about them and that in this time 16· ·during Covid, when it's so hard to retain good 17· ·tenants, find tenants to pay the rent on time, that 18· ·these tenants -- you couldn't ask for better tenants. 19· · · · Uh, and so with that, I'd actually like to open 20· ·up to the board if there's any other questions, 21· ·anything I can answer and thank you for your time. 22· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. Uh, so I'll -- I'll go 23· ·ahead and call on other people. So is there any member 24· ·of the public who would like to speak in support of 25· ·the appeal? Please come forward and sign in and state Page 16 ·1· ·your name and address. ·2· · · · MS. LEE:· Hi. I'm, um -- ·3· · · · MS. WILANDER:· So before you begin, I should ·4· ·state that you have five minutes to speak then. ·5· · · · MS. LEE:· Okay. My name is Charlene Lee [ph] and ·6· ·I work as the public -- um, private assistant, uh, for ·7· ·the landlord. She's currently, um, out of the country. ·8· ·So I am kind of showing up here, uh, on her behalf. ·9· ·Um, she rented out, uh, this unit, uh, without an 10· ·agent and I was kind of with her, because I am her 11· ·personal assistant, um, 1- -- like every step of the 12· ·way. 13· · · · Sorry, I'm very nervous. Uh, but, um, I do deal 14· ·with the tenants on a weekly basis. Um, most of the 15· ·things I do are here in Arcadia. So I pass by day and 16· ·night, um, and, uh, I just wanted to say that, you 17· ·know, I visited the property and I wish you guys can, 18· ·because, um, you'll see that it's not -- uh, it does 19· ·not feel or look like a residence, um, or is, by all 20· ·means, not a residence, because, uh, I'm living proof 21· ·that I go there, I monitor, I -- 22· · · · You know, I see that they're working all the time 23· ·and you'll see like the computers set up and, you 24· ·know, everybody's -- if you ever even call into, uh, 25· ·the business, it's so well-made and professional and, Page 17 ·1· ·um, more so than many other businesses. But I just ·2· ·wanted to, uh, make a point to say also that we've ·3· ·tried, uh, to have a lot of other tenants come in ·4· ·before, um, we had the luck of finding them as ·5· ·tenants. ·6· · · · Uh, we tried having like a school, um, ·7· ·chiropractor, doctor's office, just office use and ·8· ·we've been rejected by the city of Arcadia many times ·9· ·just because of zoning, um, and everything that was 10· ·included that I heard today for the board, uh, like 11· ·the kitchen and all this, it was all, I don't want to 12· ·say grandfathered in, but it -- it came with the 13· ·purchase of the property. 14· · · · Uh, it wasn't like they built the kitchen for 15· ·their use. It wasn't like they built the rooms for 16· ·their use, um, and they've been nothing but compliant. 17· ·Uh, so I wanted to make a point to say that. 18· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you -- thank you for your, 19· ·uh, information. 20· · · · MS. LEE:· Thank you. 21· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you very much. 22· · · · MS. LEE:· Thank you. 23· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Should I ask if anybody has 24· ·questions of you? Should I ask if people -- if we have 25· ·questions of the people? Page 18 ·1· · · · MS. FLORES:· No. ·2· · · · MS. WILANDER:· I didn't think so. ·3· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· Uh, if you have questions, you can ·4· ·ask after the public hearing as well. ·5· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Susan, you'll have five minutes ·6· ·and you're speaking in favor of the, uh, appellant; is ·7· ·that correct? ·8· · · · MS. BLOCK:· It is. Thank you. ·9· · · · MS. FLORES:· Madame Chair, he is the appellant. 10· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Oh, I'm sorry. 11· · · · MS. FLORES:· The person who first spoke was 12· ·actually the appellant's attorney. Yeah. 13· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Oh. 14· · · · MS. FLORES:· So we're going to [inaudible] -- 15· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. I -- I knew that the 16· ·first person wasn't the appellant. So thank you. 17· ·Susan, you do have unlimited time to go ahead and 18· ·share. 19· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Should I introduce myself? 20· · · · MS. WILANDER:· So state -- so state your name and 21· ·sign in, please. 22· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Okay. My name is Maximilian 23· ·Lobkowicz D. Lobkowicz and, uh, I'm a journalist, an 24· ·artist. I've been doing my work for 40-some odd years. 25· ·I've been on radio. Um, this whole thing is about sex Page 19 ·1· ·and being offended; okay? With fire people coming in ·2· ·and going, oh, oh, this is creeping me out and then ·3· ·running over to this woman and saying, they're ·4· ·pornographers. ·5· · · · What? My wife is a world-renowned author and ·6· ·writer, a graduate of Yale University and you want to ·7· ·defame her like that. That's not going to happen. We ·8· ·are legitimate 40 years in the business. I used to ·9· ·publish the Brentwood -- uh, the Brentwood newspaper, 10· ·I used to publish the Beverly Hills newspaper, I used 11· ·to publish the L.A. Star many many years ago when here 12· ·in Arcadia in the news racks they would throw tar on 13· ·top of it because it had to do with sex and that's all 14· ·this is about and it's about my -- 15· · · · How can a city tell me that I can't work 24 hours 16· ·as a journalist? How many lawyers here have worked for 17· ·hours and hours on their cases? We've saved this 18· ·building that was a wreck and, uh, there were homeless 19· ·people living in there. Nobody ever said anything. We 20· ·went in, we cleaned it up, we didn't change any walls. 21· · · · They have never ever been refused to come in 22· ·there and they came with nine officers. It was like a 23· ·home invasion. This was an office invasion and I'm 24· ·offended and I will fight this. Obviously, she didn't 25· ·even look me up. I've gone to the Supreme Court -- I Page 20 ·1· ·will go anywhere for my ability to speak and take a ·2· ·nap in my office and by the way, I don't live there. ·3· · · · Right now I live right outside here where my ·4· ·motorhome is. I've lived in a motorhome for years and ·5· ·years and years so that I could run the business and ·6· ·not pay $4,000 or $5,000 in rent every month. I'm an ·7· ·honorable man, I've been married 30 years with my wife ·8· ·-- with my wife and she's been insulted, defamed and ·9· ·detained in front of neighbors. 10· · · · Can you imagine if they come to your house for a 11· ·building inspection with nine cops and police cars and 12· ·then they're sitting -- these people are sitting out 13· ·in front of the house like peeping toms seeing who's 14· ·coming and who's going and this is all your money, 15· ·it's all the money of the city. 16· · · · That's all I have to say, that I work hard and I 17· ·keep working hard and I will continue to work hard and 18· ·I will continue to publish and these people here 19· ·cannot tell me -- they cannot tell me that I can't do 20· ·a podcast from my office, a podcast. No big antennas, 21· ·none of that, a podcast. They say it's illegal. Thank 22· ·you. 23· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Mr. Lobkowicz. Is there 24· ·anyone else that wants to speak in support of the 25· ·appellant? Thank you. Then if you could sign in and, Page 21 ·1· ·uh, state your name and address and you'll have five ·2· ·minutes. ·3· · · · DR. BLOCK:· Hi. I'm Dr. Susan Block and I am a ·4· ·sexologist and a sex therapist. And so that's part of ·5· ·the reason that I'm here, I guess, because some people ·6· ·have a difficult time with sexuality. I have two PhDs ·7· ·and I'm a graduate of Yale University and I'm ·8· ·sexologist of the year. In fact, I brought a picture ·9· ·of that, I got a Glennie Award, and it shows me in my 10· ·usual position, which is in a bed. 11· · · · I do a lot of shows in bed. Sometimes I interview 12· ·sex workers, I am not a sex worker unless you have a 13· ·very broad definition of that. Sometimes I interview 14· ·PhDs, fellow PhDs, like a couple weeks ago I 15· ·interviewed the, uh, primatology chief from Duke 16· ·University, Dr. Brian Hare and I did it from bed, 17· ·because just like a cook does her cooking shows in a 18· ·kitchen, I do my bedside chats in a bed and I talk 19· ·about sexuality, but I also talk about politics, I 20· ·talk about culture, I talk about art. 21· · · · I'm also an artist, like my husband. I'm also a 22· ·publisher, like my husband and we do a radio show, 23· ·FDR. We had originally applied for a radio license to 24· ·do our radio podcasts, that was turned down. So these 25· ·people came up with the idea to give us a license as Page 22 ·1· ·offices in security and we thought that was fine; you ·2· ·know? ·3· · · · We'd prefer to be licensed to do shows, because, ·4· ·you know, we would like that, but it's okay, because ·5· ·we have offices as, uh, storage. So lots of storage, ·6· ·it worked, it was fine. And then they tell us we're ·7· ·running, uh, an Airbnb, a hotel, uh, some sort of sex ·8· ·business. There's nobody on campus -- we call it a ·9· ·campus sometimes. 10· · · · There's nobody on the facility that has sex with 11· ·anybody or even does sex things, it's all in 12· ·cyberspace. My method of doing sex therapy has, for 35 13· ·years, been virtual. I was one of the first to do 14· ·that, now everybody's doing it, all my coll- -- 15· ·colleagues in therapy are doing it over the phone, 16· ·over Zoom. 17· · · · I've been doing that for 35 years. And so I'm 18· ·with the times. The times are that we're all wearing 19· ·masks, we're all socially distancing. A lot of our 20· ·people, our volunteers, also are concerned about 21· ·Coronavirus. And so sometimes they do spend long times 22· ·at our studios. One of them lives in a place where his 23· ·whole family has, uh, Coronavirus. 24· · · · So, yeah, we let him s- -- stay overnight 25· ·sometimes, because we don't want him going home, his Page 23 ·1· ·home is in West Covina. And so we have all these beds ·2· ·from my bedside chats and sometimes I've done shows ·3· ·where there's 10 beds in 1 big room. So we have them, ·4· ·they're stored and yes, sometimes they're used and ·5· ·yes, my husband and I are old people. ·6· · · · I don't know if anybody here is as old as us, but ·7· ·we have to take naps every once in a while. I have had ·8· ·pneumonia three times, my husband has had cancer. He ·9· ·has also had a heart atta- -- uh, not a heart attack, 10· ·but heart surgery. I hate to talk about our illnesses, 11· ·I don't usually do that, I don't usually like to 12· ·portray myself as a victim, but I think I am a victim 13· ·here and I do think I should take care of my health 14· ·and when I'm working an 18-hour day, lie down. 15· · · · I also have a -- a -- a breathing system that I 16· ·have to use sometimes and you have to use it lying 17· ·down. And by the way, when they detained me in the 18· ·parking lot, they wouldn't let me have a drink of 19· ·water or a cough drop and I need to have that, but I 20· ·wasn't allowed and, uh, other people that were in that 21· ·parking lot were not allowed to get to essential 22· ·items. 23· · · · Anyway, we love it here in Arcadia. We have been 24· ·good tenants and good neighbors and I understand that 25· ·some people feel that anyone that has something to do Page 24 ·1· ·with sexuality, and I am proud to be a sex therapist, ·2· ·I have contributed to the widely black -- well, ·3· ·encyclopedia of human sexuality, uh, 10 articles. ·4· · · · I -- I write for CounterPunch, I -- uh, I'm on ·5· ·HBO, I'm on all kinds of, uh, legitimate media, but I ·6· ·also am a bit of a renegade, not that I do anything ·7· ·illegal, but I'm an artist, like my husband, and I ·8· ·wear hats and I do a show in bed. And so for that, ·9· ·I've got inspectors like looking at everything, 10· ·opening, uh, my drawers to look at underwear and, uh - 11· ·- and -- and just inspecting way beyond and frisking 12· ·us -- frisking us in the parking lot. 13· · · · Now, I'm a sexologist, I don't mind if people 14· ·feel me up, but I do mind when it's done to my 15· ·volunteers for no reason. You could see they didn't 16· ·have any weapons and people are feeling them all over 17· ·the place in the parking lot in front of our 18· ·neighbors. We've been good neighbors, but now of 19· ·course, they're all like, well, what was happening 20· ·that day? 21· · · · So I don't know if I've gone over my time. 22· ·Anybody have any questions for me? I'm really good at 23· ·answering questions. 24· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. At this time, we'll go 25· ·-- is there anybody else -- thank you very much. Is Page 25 ·1· ·there anybody else that is speaking for the appellant? ·2· ·Thank you. Then is there any member of the public who ·3· ·would like to speak in opposition to the appeal? Uh, ·4· ·board members, do any of you have questions of the ·5· ·appellant? Mr. -- start the other direction, Mr. ·6· ·Thompson? ·7· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Uh, no -- no questions of the ·8· ·appellant. Thank you. ·9· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Mr. Chan? 10· · · · MR. CHAN:· Uh -- uh, there -- there -- there was 11· ·nobody in opposition that you want to, um -- 12· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Yeah. So there was nobody in 13· ·opposition. 14· · · · MR. CHAN:· So do you want to give them a chance - 15· ·- do they want to -- if there's nothing to rebut. 16· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Well, the -- if nobody spoke in 17· ·opposition -- 18· · · · MR. CHAN:· Yes. So if you want to close the 19· ·public hearing. 20· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· If I may make a quick rebuttal -- 21· · · · MS. WILANDER:· You may. 22· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· -- um, to the appellant's, uh, 23· ·statement, uh, I'd like to, if we could. 24· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Certainly. 25· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· Uh, the business license wasn't Page 26 ·1· ·revoked, uh, due to there being evidence of a phone ·2· ·sex business or an adult-oriented business even though ·3· ·that was the initial indication from the person who ·4· ·came to the police department to -- to register, um, ·5· ·but the bottom line wa- -- is that what was found was, ·6· ·uh, a residential use. ·7· · · · Uh, first, there was the registrant info saying ·8· ·that he had lived there for several days before coming ·9· ·to register, then there was the advertisement for the 10· ·live-in position and when we inspected, uh, we 11· ·confirmed those, uh, indications of residential use 12· ·when there were 10 bedrooms, 9 of them, uh, well-lived 13· ·in and you can refer to the, uh, Exhibit 7 to the 14· ·staff report. 15· · · · And so the bottom line is there was -- the 16· ·business license was revoked for residential use, not 17· ·any, uh, indications of an adult u- -- uh, adult- 18· ·oriented business and even if, uh, for whatever 19· ·reason, the board finds that, uh, the appellants 20· ·weren't engaging in residential, uh -- residential 21· ·use, uh, they still deviated from their approved floor 22· ·plan, which, uh, these bedrooms, uh, were meant for 23· ·storage and office use, uh, which they were not 24· ·currently being used as. 25· · · · That's a violation of their conditions of Page 27 ·1· ·approval and that's an independent basis, uh, to ·2· ·uphold the revocation. That'd by my statement. ·3· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Uh, thank you, Mr. Sanchez. So at ·4· ·this point, uh, board -- I'm going to see if the board ·5· ·members have any questions of the appellant. Mr. ·6· ·Thompson, you said you -- ·7· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Well, looks like, uh, we have ·8· ·another speaker. ·9· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Yes. 10· · · · MR. BETTIE:· Mr. Bettie, uh, attorney for 11· ·appellant. 12· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Certainly. 13· · · · MR. BETTIE:· If I could briefly, uh, there was no 14· ·deviation from the use, under the business license, 15· ·specifically, because as, uh, the appellants have 16· ·testified in support in the appeal, the beds were 17· ·placed there as part of storage as part of a 18· ·breakroom, people napped in them. That's allowed under 19· ·the business use. 20· · · · It's business and storage. Uh, there's nothing 21· ·that I've seen in the code, and I welcome, uh, state 22· ·attorney to point out otherwise, that says you can't 23· ·have a bed in a room as storage, uh, how a bed should 24· ·be used as storage, if it needs to be propped up, if 25· ·it needs to be stacked three high. Page 28 ·1· · · · Uh, there's nothing that says that you can't ·2· ·leave a bed in a room. Uh, as far as evidence of well- ·3· ·used and well-lived-in, their beds, as appellants and ·4· ·witnesses have testified to in support of the appeal, ·5· ·people napped on them sometimes. I'm not surprised, I ·6· ·don't think anyone's surprised to hear that they ·7· ·looked well-used in the sense that sheets may have ·8· ·been ruffled. ·9· · · · Uh, again, I just wanted to highlight the fact 10· ·that as state counsel has pointed out, this is 11· ·specifically on the issue of residential use and 12· ·nonconforming to the license. Uh, we haven't seen 13· ·anybody that was living at the property that's 14· ·presented any evidence that the use of property as 15· ·their domicile. 16· · · · Uh, when the search was conducted, there was no 17· ·one found that was living at the property at the time. 18· ·Uh, suffice to say I think this is a difference of 19· ·opinion. We've heard some passionate speeches tonight 20· ·from appellant and the supporters and it -- it really 21· ·comes down to, you know, you're trying to run a 22· ·business, how do you utilize your breakroom? 23· · · · Can you have couches, can you have beds, do you 24· ·sleep at your desk? Uh, what's the appropriate way to 25· ·do that? And again, there's nothing in the code that Page 29 ·1· ·says that it can't be a bed. All it says, you can't ·2· ·use it as a domicile, you can't reside at the property ·3· ·and I think just from what's been presented tonight, ·4· ·we haven't seen any evidence that it is being used as ·5· ·a domicile. And so I thank you for your time. I have ·6· ·nothing further. ·7· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, sir. Mr. Chan, did you ·8· ·have any questions of the appellant? ·9· · · · MR. CHAN:· My one question would be, uh, before 10· ·you guys moved into the city of Arcadia in 2020, where 11· ·was your business conducted at? 12· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· I'm so sorry, could you repeat 13· ·that? 14· · · · MR. CHAN:· Before you opened your business in the 15· ·city of Arcadia -- 16· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Yes. 17· · · · MR. CHAN:· -- and you said you, uh -- your wife 18· ·said she's been doing this for about 35 years -- 19· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Mm-hmm. 20· · · · MR. CHAN:· -- uh, where was your business 21· ·previously? 22· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Um, well, over the 30 years, it's 23· ·been in Hollywood Hills, uh, it's been downtown. Uh, 24· ·as a matter of fact, as soon as we moved downtown, 25· ·like many many years ago, we were raided by the Page 30 ·1· ·police. What are you doing? ·2· · · · MR. CHAN:· Where -- where was your last place ·3· ·before -- ·4· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Englewood, California. ·5· · · · MR. CHAN:· Englewood. Okay. Thank you. ·6· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Yeah. Englewood, California. Um, ·7· ·then we were on Wilshire Boulevard, um, the hotel ·8· ·owner provided us with suites so that we could ·9· ·broadcast from there. I'm a leftie radical son-of-a- 10· ·gun and a lot of people don't like me. I've been 11· ·stabbed. So I'm very, very careful and security 12· ·conscious and, uh, over 35 years, uh, all over. 13· · · · And if you go back 40 years, we traveled all over 14· ·Europe -- all over Europe, Italy, France, England. 15· ·I've published in England, I've published in Italy 16· ·and, uh, I did radio in Italy. Um, so I've been all 17· ·over the world and I'm known for what I do, been doing 18· ·it a long long time; you know? 19· · · · A long time and I love what I do and I care about 20· ·what I do and we don't have any women with little 21· ·short skirts sitting there going, ah, ah, we don't 22· ·have that. That's in their imagination -- in their 23· ·imagination, in their heads. 24· · · · MS. ABEYTA:· Sir, please direct it to the board 25· ·and not to them, please. Page 31 ·1· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Yeah. Well, these are the people ·2· ·accusing me. So, uh, in any case, uh, that's the ·3· ·story, we've been everywhere, we've really always been ·4· ·good tenants and certainly, we have poured about, in ·5· ·the last almost three years that we've been there now, ·6· ·uh, close to $1.5 million into the community, not ·7· ·counting the landlord's money, an empty building with ·8· ·graffiti all over it and homeless people living in ·9· ·there and I'm a danger. 10· · · · Uh, I don't know, I'm so sorry to take up your 11· ·time, but thank you and I hope that you think this 12· ·over, because, uh, I have never ever, um -- no one can 13· ·tell me when I can speak, where I can speak at all or 14· ·I fight -- I fight nicely. I'm a peace [inaudible]; 15· ·okay? 16· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Uh, thank you. We certainly will 17· ·take this under consideration. 18· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Thank you. 19· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, sir. 20· · · · MR. LOBKOWICZ:· Thank you so much. 21· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Then Mr. Tsoi, did you have any 22· ·questions? 23· · · · MR. TSOI:· No. 24· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Then, uh, may I have a motion to 25· ·close the public hearing? Page 32 ·1· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· No. I don't have any questions. ·2· ·I'd make a motion to close the public hearing. ·3· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. Motion and second to ·4· ·close the public hearing? ·5· · · · MR. TSOI:· I'll second. ·6· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. Mr. Tsoi and Mr. -- Mr. ·7· ·Thompson made the motion, Mr. Tsoi, the second. ·8· ·Without objection, the motion is approved. Board ·9· ·members will now discuss the item. So I'll start with 10· ·you, Mr. Tsoi, do you have any comments? 11· · · · MR. TSOI:· Yes. Um, from what I'm, uh, hearing 12· ·from the appellant and their attorney, it seems that 13· ·there's some inconsistency in what the -- the material 14· ·that's being presented to us. Um, they mention about 15· ·taking a break, you know, and use the bed to -- to 16· ·take a rest, but, um, there's 10 of them. 17· · · · Um, I've seen offices that has breakroom with a 18· ·bed, because sometimes they have a pregnant mom that 19· ·wants to lay down, take a break, but that's 1, not 10; 20· ·you know? 21· · · · So -- and then I'm looking at the background, uh, 22· ·on the staff report, the business license that was 23· ·originally applied as office use which consists of 24· ·archiving, cataloguing years' worth of internal 25· ·generated files, print media, they don't mention Page 33 ·1· ·anything about podcasting or conducting business, um, ·2· ·you know, whatever they do, um, in the bed, um, you ·3· ·know, maybe videotaping, but -- ·4· · · · So there's some inconsistency that I think needs ·5· ·to be clarified, um -- um, and I think in my position, ·6· ·I have to rely on staff's report, um, and the city ·7· ·staff police, um, doing their job. So, um, I would ·8· ·feel that I have to, uh, you know, uphold the ·9· ·decision. Um, this is -- sounds really strange, it -- 10· ·it doesn't add up. 11· · · · And -- and I'd -- I'd like to add that, um -- um, 12· ·city's, uh, police officers and staff, um, is just 13· ·doing their job. Um, you know, I have a friend who has 14· ·been visited by code enforcement, um, I think city has 15· ·the responsibility if there's any, uh, suspicious 16· ·that, um -- uh, an operation is deviating from, um, 17· ·the initial -- initially stated operation on a 18· ·business license, I think city staff has the right to 19· ·inspect your business. 20· · · · So I mean, they were just basically operating on 21· ·a suspicion, that's all and, you know, that's just -- 22· ·they're just doing their job to protect the life 23· ·safety of the citizens. 24· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Mr. Tsoi. Mr. Chan, 25· ·comments? Page 34 ·1· · · · MR. CHAN:· I agree with Commissioner Tsoi's ·2· ·comments. You know, there seems to be inconsistencies. ·3· ·Um, I have no issues with the washer and dryer, ·4· ·because I've seen businesses with washer and dryers in ·5· ·their businesses. Um, actually, even my hairdresser, ·6· ·she has a washer and dryer, because she doesn't send ·7· ·anything out. ·8· · · · I've seen businesses with showers and I've seen ·9· ·businesses with kitchens. Um, you know, I can kind of 10· ·like see, uh, Susan -- Dr. Susan, I can't pronounce 11· ·your last name -- 12· · · · DR. BLOCK:· Block. 13· · · · MR. CHAN:· Block. But, um, you know, I've got no 14· ·issues, uh, with a sex therapist or, you know -- but, 15· ·you know, some of the bedroom pictures, uh, unless 16· ·it's staged, you know, it looked like, um, something 17· ·you would find in a home with the posters and 18· ·everything. It's more home-like; you know? 19· · · · If it was staged, okay, but, you know, it's -- I 20· ·think if someone's doing broadcasts or -- or whatever, 21· ·you know, you would stage maybe one or two rooms and 22· ·just bring -- bring props in and whatever, but, you 23· ·know, I agree with Commissioner Tsoi, because what the 24· ·license was granted for and what's presently going on 25· ·they don't seem to match. Page 35 ·1· · · · Um, if the license was originally issued for you ·2· ·to do business as a sex therapist, I think it'd be a ·3· ·totally different -- different situation, but the ·4· ·license was issued for another use and, um, you know, ·5· ·unless city staff can come up or the appellant can ·6· ·come up with, uh, something else, I would have to ·7· ·agree with the, uh, city's recommendation. ·8· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Mr. Chan. Mr. Thompson. ·9· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yeah. I've reviewed the staff 10· ·report, I've listened to the testimony tonight, I have 11· ·reviewed the, uh, development code as well as the, uh 12· ·-- the appeal letter, the job advertisement, the 13· ·notice of violations and the inspection warrant and I 14· ·feel for the appellant, but, um, the city has done 15· ·significant investigation and due diligence in 16· ·reviewing this business license, which is for 17· ·professional office and storage and -- and other 18· ·related office uses and it doesn't appear that those 19· ·uses are consistent, um, with what is occurring at the 20· ·property. 21· · · · Um, I feel that the city has, um, met the -- the 22· ·burden of proof or the, um -- which in this case is to 23· ·prove it is more likely to be true than not true, that 24· ·it has met the preponderance of the evidence standard, 25· ·uh, with respect to this use, um, as -- as compared to Page 36 ·1· ·the business license. Um, and so I -- I would be in ·2· ·favor of, um -- uh -- uh, approving this ordinance. ·3· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. I'm also agreeing with ·4· ·my fellow commissioners, um, it's -- it's -- this is ·5· ·not a witch hunt, it's a concern, because the ·6· ·conditions of the, uh, business license have not been ·7· ·followed. I understand -- you know, I -- I can ·8· ·remember when I was -- was pregnant, I would go up and ·9· ·sleep on the cot at the phone company, but this -- the 10· ·-- what I'm seeing does not look like, uh, the beds 11· ·that were used for -- for a broadcast. 12· · · · It looks like, uh -- it -- it certainly appears 13· ·as if people are living there. Uh, that's not -- uh, 14· ·it's -- it's not just an occasional use, it appears. 15· ·In addition to that, there's as clear deviation from 16· ·the floor plan and all the time when we ever -- we 17· ·have an appea- -- um, an approval of a project, we 18· ·always have the floor plan and you can't just go ahead 19· ·and say, well, we've decided we don't like the floor 20· ·plan, we're changing it. 21· · · · That -- that -- that's how the business license 22· ·was granted. So the city -- I believe that city has 23· ·met the burden of proof. The job application that 24· ·talked about live-in, that was a mistake, that was a 25· ·really bad mistake, because, uh, advertising it is a Page 37 ·1· ·live-in position makes us believe that that's what the ·2· ·situation is. ·3· · · · So yes, I'm, uh, inclined to go ahead and support ·4· ·the, um, revocation of the license. So is there a ·5· ·motion on this item? ·6· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yeah. I would make a -- a motion ·7· ·to adopt resolution number 2081 denying the appeal and ·8· ·uphold the decision to revoke the city's business ·9· ·license for Saybrook Media Group, Inc. and that 10· ·Saybrook's employees, agents, partners, directors, 11· ·officers, controlling stockholders or managers not be 12· ·allowed to apply for a new business license in the 13· ·city of Arcadia for a period of 12 months from the 14· ·date of this revocation. 15· · · · MR. SANCHEZ:· Richard Thompson, that is staff's 16· ·recommendation you're moving? 17· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yes. 18· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you. Is there a second to 19· ·Mr. Thompson's motion? 20· · · · MR. TSOI:· I'll second. 21· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Thank you, Mr. Tsoi. Roll call, 22· ·please. 23· · · · FEMALE:· Boardmember Chan -- 24· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yes. 25· · · · FEMALE:· -- Boardmember Thompson -- Page 38 ·1· · · · MR. THOMPSON:· Yes. ·2· · · · FEMALE:· -- Boardmember Tsoi -- ·3· · · · MR. TSOI:· Yes. ·4· · · · FEMALE:· -- Chair Wilander. ·5· · · · MS. WILANDER:· Yes. The motion is approved. ·6· ·There's a 10-day appeal period after the adoption of ·7· ·the resolution. Appeals are to be filed by 4:30 p.m. ·8· ·on Friday, October 1, 2021. The board shall end ·9· ·tonight's meeting and thank you all for attending. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Page 39 ·1 ·2 ·3· · · · I, Chris Naaden, a transcriber, hereby declare ·4· ·under penalty of perjury that to the best of my ·5· ·ability the above 38 pages contain a full, true and ·6· ·correct transcription of the tape-recording that I ·7· ·received regarding the event listed on the caption on ·8· ·page 1. ·9 10· · · · I further declare that I have no interest in the 11· ·event of the action. 12 13· · · · October 27, 2021 14 15 · · · · · ___________________ 16· · · · Chris Naaden 17 18 19 20· ·(Arcadia Business Permit & License Review Board, 9-28- 21· ·21) 22 23 24 25 Page 40 ·1· · · HEALTH INFORMATION PRIVACY & SECURITY: CAUTIONARY NOTICE ·2· Litigation Services is committed to compliance with applicable federal ·3· and state laws and regulations (“Privacy Laws”) governing the ·4· protection andsecurity of patient health information.Notice is ·5· herebygiven to all parties that transcripts of depositions and legal ·6· proceedings, and transcript exhibits, may contain patient health ·7· information that is protected from unauthorized access, use and ·8· disclosure by Privacy Laws. Litigation Services requires that access, ·9· maintenance, use, and disclosure (including but not limited to 10· electronic database maintenance and access, storage, distribution/ 11· dissemination and communication) of transcripts/exhibits containing 12· patient information be performed in compliance with Privacy Laws. 13· No transcript or exhibit containing protected patient health 14· information may be further disclosed except as permitted by Privacy 15· Laws. Litigation Services expects that all parties, parties’ 16· attorneys, and their HIPAA Business Associates and Subcontractors will 17· make every reasonable effort to protect and secure patient health 18· information, and to comply with applicable Privacy Law mandates, 19· including but not limited to restrictions on access, storage, use, and 20· disclosure (sharing) of transcripts and transcript exhibits, and 21· applying “minimum necessary” standards where appropriate. It is 22 recommended that your office review its policies regarding sharing of 23 transcripts and exhibits - including access, storage, use, and 24· disclosure - for compliance with Privacy Laws. 25· · · · © All Rights Reserved. Litigation Services (rev. 6/1/2019)