Sacramento files code violations against city councilman facing residence investigation
The city of Sacramento has issued code violations to Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee, citing him for structures that were built without permits in the backyard of a property he owns.
The code violations come as Loloee is undergoing a City Council-directed investigation into his residence following reports in The Sacramento Bee that showed another family resides in the Nogales Street home where Loloee says he lives.
That house, in the Hagginwood neighborhood, has two sheds and a covered patio installed without a city permit, according to city documents The Bee obtained from a California Public Records Act request.
On June 28, after The Bee’s first stories on Loloee’s property, two people submitted complaints to the city that said the house had structures that were built without permits.
On July 7, three city building inspectors went to the property to check it out. Loloee was not at the home when inspectors visited. A man at the home made a phone call and then allowed the inspectors into the backyard, the report read.
That’s when the inspectors found the structures. If Loloee does not fix the violations, the city could charge him fines, according to a letter the city sent him on July 8. The city could also demolish the structures, and put a lien on the property for the cost of the demolition.
The report redacts the name of a man who was at the property when inspectors arrived. It refers to the man as the “son of the occupant of the home.”
A man at the home in June told The Bee he rents the property and lives there with his son. An employee of Loloee’s company, Karla Montoya, later confirmed to The Bee that Loloee allows her family to live at the home.
The code violation report said the building inspector “explained the process on obtaining a permit for the structures to (redacted) stated he will relay the info to his parents and have them contact (the building inspector) ASAP.”
On July 12, a city official called Loloee, and he was not in Sacramento.
“The property owner is out of the area,” the report read. “Provide a week extension for contact.”
On July 13, Loloee told a city employee he might remove the sheds to avoid needing to obtain permits for them, the document said.
Sacramento began its official investigation into Loloee’s residence this month. The city requires council members to live in the geographic districts they represent. Loloee represents District 2, one of eight in the city.
His wife owns a $1.4 million house in Granite Bay, where the family has claimed a homeowner exemption that often signifiies a household’s primary residence. Loloee, who owns two grocery stores in his council district, bought the Nogales Street home in November 2019, just before his successful run for City Council in the 2020 election.
In California, if a city council member does not reside or have a domicile in the district they represent, the council could vote to declare the seat vacant, and the member would be replaced, or any individual could file a “quo warranto” lawsuit, said Fred Woocher, an election law attorney. A person who votes from a place they don’t live could face criminal charges for perjury and voter fraud, Woocher said. If convicted, the person would lose the council seat.
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
