Bill would police condo sales

Dave Brooks

The sale of condominiums improperly converted from apartments, such

as ones sold in Huntington Beach, would be far more difficult under a

state law Assemblyman Tom Harman is drafting.

The new bill would require county recorders to verify that

property owners have met all local legal requirements before allowing

them to divide up their parcels and sell small apartment complexes as

individual condominium units.

Recently as many as 120 Surf City condominiums have come under

scrutiny by the city’s Planning Department because the units were

converted from apartments without the proper city permits. These

illegal condominiums don’t meet local building requirements, said

Planning Commissioner Howard Zelefsky, and could be very difficult to

resell.

The illegal condo conversions are able to slip through the cracks,

Harman said, because no one at the county level, where property

owners receive their parcel numbers, is checking to ensure the

conversions meet local standards.

Harman’s new bill would require that property owners present a

certificate of compliance from their local planning agency that shows

the proposed conversion meets all local building requirements.

Without that certification, the county assessor will not be able to

issue new parcel numbers.

“Basically it will say that all fees for a condo conversion have

been paid and all the requirements have been met,� Harman said Monday

during a small press conference at his office.

“Even the most unsophisticated buyer knows that property must have

its own parcel number,� he added.

If the current property owner doesn’t go through the new process,

they won’t be issued a parcel number under his bill.

City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said the improperly converted condos

allegedly sold by former Councilwoman Pam Houchen wouldn’t have sold

if this law was in place.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office are investigating Houchen’s

involvement in the conversion sales. The results of that

investigation should be available in mid-December, McGrath said.

Aaron Frankel, a Huntington Beach resident who bought one of the

improperly converted condominiums, is participating in a settlement

deal between the city and several title insurance companies that

would have the title companies pay several conversion and affordable

housing fees to bring his condo and others like it to code.

“Ideally it would be nice to have something to prevent other

people from dealing with this same issue in the future,� he said of

the proposed law.

Harman’s bill only deals with condo conversions that will create

four or less new units. A state law currently on the books deals with

conversions larger than that.

Zelefsky said Huntington Beach had conversion problems because the

Orange County Assessor’s office didn’t have a channel to verify if

the conversions met local requirements.

“This sets up a dialogue between the assessors office and the

local jurisdiction that doesn’t currently exist,� he said.

The certificate of completion will be a uniform document used

throughout California by all local planning departments, but local

agencies will be able to set up their own system for issuing the

certificate. Harman said Zelefsky is helping him draft the form.

Harman will introduce the law when he is sworn in for his third

and final term on Dec 6. He said he expects the bill to pass and

hopes it can go into effect by January 2006.