Glendale court dismisses complaint against city commissioner Sam Manoukian

PanARMENIAN.Net - A criminal complaint filed by Glendale officials against a city commissioner have been dismissed after he brought his vacant property into compliance with city codes.

City officials in May filed a 19-count criminal complaint against Civil Service Commissioner Sam Manoukian, who is not related to Councilman Rafi Manoukian, and several business partners who own a property at 900 W. Glenoaks Blvd. The complaint alleged that the property had fallen into disrepair.

In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, city attorneys listed municipal code violations at the “dilapidated” property, ranging from the accumulation of junk and debris to failing to maintain proper landscaping.

City code inspectors first opened a case for the property in June 2009 in response to complaints from area residents, officials said.

The recent criminal case was dismissed last week after the property was brought into compliance, said Yvette Neukian, deputy city attorney for code enforcement. Manoukian and his business partners paid the city $1,000 for inspection fees and legal costs prior to the dismissal, she added.

Manoukian’s attorney, Lara Yeretsian, said in an email that her client had moved swiftly to correct any issues at the property. Within days of the filing, the boarded-up building had received a fresh coat of paint.

“My clients are successful and conscientious businessman and innovative real estate developers,” she said. “They have been residents and active members of the city of Glendale for decades.”

Manoukian has said he and his business partners had plans to build a retail center at the property, but construction financing was lost during the recession.

Their mortgage lender has barred them from demolishing a vacant building at the site until a project is moving forward, he said, Glendale News-Press reported.