SANTA BARBARA — In a city with a reputation for some of the highest residential rental rates in the nation, and where the laws of supply and demand rule the day, there are few limits upon the economic activities or objectives of landlords.
There are, however, very strict zoning and rental housing codes that serve as firm guidelines for landlord behavior. These “guidelines” are not mere suggestions, as one local area landlord has learned over the course of several contentious years in which he has been serially charged with various code and safety violations.
The history of Dario Pini’s contentious relationship with the courts and with housing code compliance officers reached back nearly a decade and includes his earlier arrests on burglary and trespassing charges.
On June 6, 2015, Pini was ordered by the courts to complete construction on a State Street motel and to comply with Cal/OSHA directives in doing so. Included in those rulings were orders issued in October to cease work until specific scaffolding repairs were made in the interests of worker safety.
According to Pini’s attorney Larry Powell, the Cal/OSHA ruling “had nothing to do with the employee who fell from a second story window” several months prior. In March 2014, the City of Santa Barbara had fined Pini $30,000 for renting hotel rooms throughout the period of construction.
In spite of orders to cease construction until the scaffolding was repaired to Cal/OSHA standards for approval, Pini has allowed work on the property to continue.
Pursuant to that, Pini now faces a criminal misdemeanor charge issued by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney. According to prosecutor Casey Nelson, “the basics of the charge are that he worked through a stop-work order.”
Pini is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Barbara Superior Court on February 17th.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
