Marysville council upholds vacate order for 331 A Street, denies owner's appeal

The Marysville City Council on Feb. 10 denied an appeal by Beck Asset Management LLC and upheld a city notice ordering the vacation and repair of 331 A Street after evidence, photographs and staff testimony detailed persistent life-safety and habitability hazards.

City attorney Marcia Birch told the council that the inspection report and photographs — obtained after the city secured a warrant from Yuba County Superior Court — document repeated violations dating to 2022 and a pattern of temporary fixes followed by reversion to unsafe conditions. "First, the property is in fact substandard and unsafe under the applicable codes," Birch said, summarizing the city's three-part case that the building is unsafe, the owner had notice and opportunity to comply, and the vacate order is necessary to protect health and safety.

Parisha Rodney, a city community service officer, walked the council through a binder of photographs and the enforcement history, citing repeated exterior trash, mattresses and broken vehicles beginning in November 2022, multiple notices and accumulating fines, and, after the owner denied access, a court-issued inspection warrant executed in January 2026. Rodney described blocked exits, a sealed secondary door on the first floor, personal belongings and bedding in a common foyer and what staff believed were occupants in subfloor spaces; she also reported seeing roach activity during the inspection.

Jeremy Chaplin, the city's public works director and chief building official who prepared the inspection report, described missing fire-resistive assemblies, exposed wiring and plumbing, nonfunctioning or removed smoke detectors, overloaded circuits and outlets, disconnected or inoperable plumbing in shared restrooms, and a building-wide pest infestation. Chaplin told the council the scope and interconnection of those deficiencies — including compromised fire separations and work performed without permits — meant remediation could not safely proceed while the building remained occupied. "No," he said when asked whether the violations could be safely remedied while people remained in place, explaining the need for a professional, permit‑driven remediation plan.

Appellant AJ Beck said he had submitted engineer reports, invoices and photographs documenting repairs and asked the council to consider that material; he disputed parts of staff testimony and urged the council to accept evidence that many items had been addressed. On-site manager Lisa Pompa told the council that some basement photos reflected stored belongings cleared from units rather than ongoing live‑in conditions, and several tenants and a legal advocate asked the council to weigh displacement risks and consider relocation assistance or receivership to preserve housing rather than immediate vacancy.

Council members said they were sympathetic to tenants but emphasized the city's obligation to protect public health and safety. After deliberation the council read a resolution finding the notice and order properly issued and supported by substantial evidence, and denied the appeal. The resolution directs upholding the notice to vacate and repair for 331 A Street; the council polled in favor of the resolution.

The council record notes that the posted notice describes the owner's obligations under state law, including relocation assistance formulas in the California Health and Safety Code for dispossessed tenants. The council did not adopt any modification to the notice at the time; it said staff and the owner must follow the permitting and remediation steps described in the inspection report and the staff letter provided to the owner.

The council took the matter under advisement, heard public comment and then returned to vote; the resolution denying the appeal will be finalized and presented at a future formal meeting packet. The city and the property owner both indicated additional steps and documentation may follow as the post‑decision process continues.