Sentinel Staff Report–
A lawsuit seeking over $500,000 in accrued fines and immediate abatement of nuisance violations has been filed against Sunrise Mall majority owner Namdar Realty Group.
In an interview, Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney confirmed Wednesday with The Sentinel that a lawsuit has been filed against Namdar Realty in relation to the over half-million dollars in accrued fines levied against Namdar for extensive code violations.
“There has been a lawsuit filed against Namdar for the nuisance abatement,” Feeney said. “They have a notice to abate, and [the violations] haven’t been fully abated yet.” Feeney declined to comment further, citing it being a legal matter.
In May, several city and Sacramento County officials inspected the property and found a multitude of violations, including fire, health and safety, and code enforcement violations. A notice to abate was issued to Namdar in early June, and according to the city, multiple violations have not been addressed.
According to court documents filed in Sacramento Superior Court on July 15, Namdar purchased the mall in 2018 and “failed to invest” in the mall property, contributing to the nuisance caused.
The complaint alleges that Namdar Realty is “directly responsible” for continued violations of the law, including omissions, failure to maintain, and reckless disregard for nuisance conditions.
The suit lists offending conditions of the property which it says are “hazardous” to the public, including mold, pest infestations, fire hazards, structural deterioration, accumulated debris, unsanitary conditions, blight, criminal activity, and “other dangerous or substandard conditions.”
“The longstanding deteriorated and unsecured condition of the property regularly attracts criminal activity and creates hiding places for criminal conduct, making the property a breeding ground for crime that negatively affects the surrounding community,” the lawsuit states.
In the inspection warrant served in mid-May, city and county officials found evidence of homelessness activity to be prevalent throughout, including the unhoused living inside an abandoned movie theater which closed in 2021, and unhoused living in and engaging in “illicit” activity inside an abandoned freestanding restaurant space once home to Elephant Bar.
According to the lawsuit, due to the size of the Sunrise Mall property, “only a portion” of the property was inspected over the three-day period. The defendants in the suit were provided a copy of the list of violations, as well as a copy of the inspection report on June 11.
The lawsuit also noted deferred maintenance issues on the exterior of the property, including damage to planters and bricks, and damaged curbing which has exposed rebar. The property has also been subject to code violations over the last year in relation to lack of landscaping maintenance, documents show.
Additionally, the lawsuit outlines past problems with the former Macy’s north and east buildings. Inspection of the buildings in both April and May found “substantial” accumulation of trash and debris, and neglected landscaping. At the time, Namdar was subject to accumulating daily code enforcement fines until issues were resolved. Macy’s closed its Sunrise Mall locations at the end of March.
The lawsuit seeks $565,000 in outstanding fines, and the immediate abatement of fire, health and safety and code violations, including structural, fire system, electrical, plumbing, and landscaping violations, and the recovery of costs associated with attorney fees, police services, and code enforcement, and inspection.
In a June 23 newsflash memo from Feeney, the city indicated over $300,000 in fines had been issued against the mall property. On Monday, the city issued an updated figure via email, of $498,000, noting that only $7,700 in fines have been paid by Namdar.
Namdar Realty Group, which also owns multiple malls in the US, has come under fire for a similar pattern of neglect across several of its properties. While currently, the city has levied over half-a-million dollars in fines, elsewhere, Namdar has faced multiple lawsuits, including for allegedly spilling sewage into a stream near one of its malls in Maine.
Namdar currently owns a 25-acre parcel where the core mall building stands and two 12-acre parcels home to Goodyear Tires and the buildings which formerly housed Macy’s Men’s and Macy’s Women’s.
Shortly following the notice to abate issued by the city, the realty group has been seeking to sell its portion of the property off the market, though no sales or transfers of property have been formally announced. Namdar Realty Group did not respond to a request for comment from The Sentinel Thursday.
