Escondido council denies property-owner appeal, upholds building board decision

The Escondido City Council voted to adopt Resolution 2025-23 to deny an appeal from the owner of a multiunit property at 455 North Quint Street and to uphold the Building Advisory and Appeals Board's decision.

Appellant Tony Strauch, who described himself as a managing member of the property, told the council he and his team provided more than 600 pages of documentation and third‑party inspection reports that, he said, disproved the city's October 31 notice of violations. "Anyone who reads and reviews this will have 0 doubt, and will be 100% in agreement that we do not have a violation as indicated in the October 31 letter from the city of Escondido," Strauch said. He asked the council to remove items from the notice that staff reports had, he asserted, incorrectly cited and to return remaining disputed items to staff for further review or independent third‑party inspection.

Strauch repeated several specific complaints that he said showed staff errors: that photos in the city's report actually show smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, that a gate noted as swinging the wrong way had been removed, and that a neighbor's tree that once touched a roof had been trimmed. He also argued the city issued notices and, he said, effectively ordered tenants to vacate within a timeframe he described as unreasonable. "The city evicted 5 families from their homes with a 3 day notice," Strauch said, and he urged the council to review whether proper notice procedures had been followed.

Council discussion then moved to a formal motion. Mayor Paul White moved to adopt Resolution 2025-23 to deny the appeal and uphold the Building Advisory and Appeals Board decision; the motion was seconded and then approved by voice vote. The council recorded the motion as approved, with a tally of five votes in favor and none opposed. City staff indicated no report out of closed session and no additional action on the item beyond the resolution vote was recorded at the meeting.

The council's action is a formal denial of the appeal; Strauch had asked for a remand to staff and for a third‑party review. The council did not adopt any separate direction at the meeting to commission an independent inspection or to reopen the notice, and the denial leaves the Building Advisory and Appeals Board determination in place pending any further procedural options the property owner may pursue under local rules.

The council's meeting packet and the resolution number referenced by staff were listed during the meeting as Resolution 2025-23. The appellant repeatedly cited the city's October 31 notice and the city's stated reliance on Health and Safety Code provisions in the staff report.