Great Grandmother Takes On City Of Lake Elsinore

A great grandmother has until May 15 to show the City of Lake Elsinore her plans to fix up her property. If she doesn’t, buildings located on her 522 N. Riley Street property will be torn down or improved by the city at her expense.

During its Feb. 28 regularly scheduled meeting, council members voted 5-0 to give Lisa Reyes until May 15 to submit plans to the city that show she is serious about improving her buildings located near Minthorn Street and the 15 Freeway.

The city has been threatening to move forward with the structure abatement since last year, and Reyes has formally appealed the process through public hearings that began in October. She contends the 1930s-era original structure and its later additions are safe and that the city signed off on structural integrity when she purchased the property more than 10 years ago.

However, a fire last June caused by a downed Edison power line at the Reyes property prompted city officials to investigate the soundness of the old buildings. A June 7 report from the Lake Elsinore Fire Department, Battalion 2, stated that Reyes’ buildings did not seem sound at the time of the small blaze.

Since that time, the city provided a list of building code violations to Reyes, but she says most of the infringements – if not all – were cited before she bought the property. Reyes told Patch that the city should have alerted her to the violations before she signed on the dotted line.

“(Lake Elsinore city official) Robin Chipman signed off on the building when I bought it,” she said. “The city signoff was a contingency by my lender to purchase the property. I didn’t find out about these old violations until the fire.”

Council member Peter Weber blasted Chipman during Tuesday’s meeting for not providing council with a list of the violations.

“Where are they?” he asked.

For her part, Reyes said she is willing to fix the property, which is now condemned by the city.

“This is my investment,” she told Patch.

According to Reyes, she still owes $143,000 on the property and if the building is demolished she will be upside down.

Reyes said she uses the facility as a place to do seamstress work. She contends she doesn’t have employees, but needs the space to keep her equipment. Currently, she does not have a business license.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Reyes’ attorney and a general contractor hired by the law firm argued the case to council members that the 522 N. Riley structures are salvageable. Reyes contends she can get the money to pay for the work.

Ron Hewison, head of , was at Tuesday’s meeting and he told council that the non-profit is interested in purchasing the N. Riley property to use as a food pantry if Reyes shores up the structures first. Currently, the city has halted any work on the property pending receipt of plans from Reyes, which she argues her contractor attempted to deliver mid-February.

According to Chipman’s Feb. 28 staff report to city council members, no such plans were delivered. Reyes’ team disagreed during Tuesday’s meeting, and the contractor was on hand with what he said were a set of plans to shore up the property.

The issue is tentatively scheduled to go before the council again on May 22.