City not likely to close Tourist Motel

YAKIMA, Wash. -- With the owner of Yakima's troubled Tourist Motel working to fix code problems, the motel is no longer under immediate threat of closure by city officials.

Acting after complaints of prostitution, drug use and violence at the motel, code officers shut down part of the motel two weeks ago after finding asbestos and mold in one of the property's three buildings at 1223 N. First St.

Building Inspector Nathan Thompson said code problems with the two remaining buildings have been largely resolved by owner Raji Sanson, who recently returned to Yakima from a trip to India.

Those problems, mainly broken windows and insulation around air-conditioning units, would typically result in fines instead of more draconian closure orders, Thompson said.

However, electrical work ordered by the state Department of Labor & Industries has yet to be resolved in full and could lead to a power cutoff, which would effectively close the business, he said.

A spokesman for L&I could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The code crackdown came in response to wide-ranging neighborhood complaints about prostitution, drug use, vagrancy and other unsavory behavior at the rundown motel. Records show police were at the motel 260 times from July 1 to Nov. 20.

City code officers raided the motel Dec. 14 in tandem with counterparts from several other agencies, including L&I, the Yakima Health District and the Regional Clean Air Agency.

One of the motel's buildings, a two-story structure with 30 units, was shuttered and remains closed. It can't be reopened without extensive renovation due to the presence of asbestos, officials have said.

It remains unclear what effect the code crackdown will have on complaints about the Tourist, but Thompson said the closed building seemed to be the focus of much of the motel's shortcomings.

The fate of the closed building remains unclear. Thompson said the city can't make the owner renovate the property, but can make sure it meets nuisance ordinances that govern abandoned structures.

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.