Terravita defies vacate order for non-compliant kitchen By Linda Bentley  Article Courtesy of The SonoranNews.com May 29, 2002

 

SCOTTSDALE – On May 21, just five days after Rural/Metro Fire Department and City of Scottsdale each issued notices to Terravita requiring the kitchen in the Pavilion to be vacated until it is brought into compliance, Terravita’s Golf Board held their retreat in the Pavilion and was using the kitchen. The smell of coffee wafting out of the building brought it to the attention of a Terravita resident, who asked not to be identified. Apparently, no one told the Golf Board. Terravita Country Club held its regular board meeting two days later. According to some of the 40 or so residents who attended, all of whom did not wish to be identified, President Joan Burnett said the article in the Sonoran News about their kitchen was accurate. She also said this matter was brought to her attention several weeks earlier by one of their residents, whom she identified. Some residents wonder why they weren’t notified of the problem by the board of directors and expressed embarrassment that they must rely on the local newspaper to find out what is going on in their own community. In unrelated matters the board asked Attorney Mark Hyatt Tynan to the meeting to discuss the community’s lawsuit against the Maricopa County Tax Assessor (TX2002-000128) to appeal the loss of their $500 common area valuations. According to attendees, Tynan began by asking everyone to “please turn off any tape recorders ... no one wants to be misquoted.” Tynan also told the crowd that he would not take any calls or respond to any letters from members and that he represents the board only and not the members. According to the lawsuit, Terravita Country Club (Black Mountain Country Club) claims that the valuation of their common areas is “erroneous and excessive” and should be $500.  The valuation notice was an indication that Terravita no longer qualified for the special common area valuation and the property was returned to its full cash value of over $4.8 million. However, Tynan claims that the assessor should have sent a Notice of Error at the time the valuation was changed. Meanwhile, outgoing President David Neuer, who at a recent board meeting projected an acetate overlay up on the screen promoting, “Terravita – Love it or leave it,” is apparently leaving. Neuer’s house, which was recently painted to cover up what neighbors have said are stucco defects, is up for sale.

 

Compliance Notices issued for  ‘bootleg’ kitchen at Terravita By Linda Bentley  Article Courtesy of The SonoranNews.com May 23, 2002

 

SCOTTSDALE – When a Terravita resident, who asked not to be identified, asked a neighbor to recommend a contractor for some remodeling work, he was given the name Carmine Longobardi with the comment, “He’s the one who put the kitchen in at the Pavilion.” Upon contacting Longobardi, the resident said he was told by Longobardi that he was licensed in New Jersey and in Italy but does not hold an Arizona contractor’s license. The resident then wondered about the safety of the $50,000 plus commercial kitchen that was unanimously approved by the Terravita Country Club Board back in 1999. Another Terravita resident, who also did not wish to be identified, claimed that simultaneous use of more than one appliance in the Pavilion’s kitchen results in a thrown breaker switch. If Longobardi wasn’t licensed, how could he have obtained a permit? According to City of Scottsdale Building Inspection Supervisor Michael Rosenthal, “He couldn’t.” Nor could the board obtain a permit for a commercial kitchen installation. The city does not allow for an owner/builder to do commercial work, only single-family residential. Rosenthal searched permit records and concluded that there were no permits issued for any remodeling work that would reflect the multi-use reconfiguration of the current Pavilion, which their records still show as Del Webb’s former Sales and Design Center. Since no permits were ever issued for the kitchen installation, no inspections were ever made by the city or by Rural/Metro. According to Rural/Metro Fire Chief Michael Lister, he received an anonymous inquiry about the kitchen, which is how it came to his attention. On May 16, Rosenthal and Lister paid a visit to the Pavilion. That visit resulted in a Compliance Notice from the city of Scottsdale and Notice of Code Violations from Rural/Metro. The Compliance Notice cites the following violations: Construction without city permits, electrical work without city permits, mechanical work without city permits, plumbing work without city permits, occupying a structure without a Temporary or Final Certificate of Occupancy. The last is a violation that requires the structure to be vacated or that immediate arrangements be made to obtain a Temporary or Final Certificate of Occupancy. The Notice also requests that Terravita “provide name of Arizona Licensed Contractor who performed work.” Lister’s Notice cited the following items be corrected: Clear blocked exits, Egress paths shall be a minimum of 36 inches, Service hood system, Remove storage to 18 inches below sprinkler head; Clean hood and flue system; Remove extension cords used as permanent wiring; Fire extinguisher to be serviced, tagged, and mounted three to five feet above the floor.  Lister noted some other compliance issues and stated, “No C/O (certificate of occupancy) for use!!” Both agencies gave Terravita until May 31, 2002 to comply. City of Scottsdale’s notice states, “Each day any violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.” And, “Construction Notices that fall into Non-Compliance are turned over to the City Prosecutor immediately.” Rosenthal stated that Terravita would need to go through the same procedure of submitting plans and applying for the required permits as if the work was never done. As a penalty, the city may charge double the permit fees. The notices were handed to Terravita’s General Manager Margaret Thayer who believes that Longobardi did do at least some of the work on the kitchen at the Pavilion. However, she is still researching records. Thayer, who was not on board as general manager until January 2002, said she has no idea why some decisions were made in the past and her primary focus is getting to the crux of the issue and getting it corrected. Sonoran News contacted Joanne Longobardi, who was catering manager at Terravita when the kitchen was built. At first she said her husband, Carmine, was the one who built the kitchen back in 1999.  After finding out that a Compliance Notice was issued, she stated her husband didn’t actually build anything, was never paid any money and only acted as a consultant to then General Manager Thomas Giulioni by telling him who to hire. Giulioni left in July, 2001 for undisclosed reasons.  She then said she thought that the chef, at the time, had done the plans and the kitchen may have actually been built by a contractor named Bill Weber. When Giulioni, who now works at Sun Lakes Country Club, was contacted, he did not wish to talk about anything that occurred during his stint at Terravita, citing, “I have put that chapter behind me.” The mystery as to who actually built the kitchen could probably be easily resolved by looking up whomever they paid for the job. However, according to some Terravita Country Club Members, the board has been less than cooperative in making records available for members’ to review. Terravita now has the option of bringing the kitchen into compliance or remove it. Either option would require building permits and that the building be vacated until in compliance.