Probe Finds Molina Broke Law Building Pool

A Los Angeles city investigation has established that county Supervisor Gloria Molina and her husband broke the law by building a swimming pool at their house in the Mount Washington district without a permit.

The couple are now working with authorities to ensure that the pool meets city safety standards, city building officials say.

The investigation, triggered by a Times story, found that Molina and her husband, Ronald L. Martinez, built their pool in 2000 without obtaining required permits or paying city fees, said city Building and Safety Department spokesman Robert Steinbach.

The pool also lacked an adequate fence to protect children from drowning, according to public documents.

Molina and Martinez obtained the permits for the pool this month, after being ordered to do so by the Building and Safety Department. City records show the couple paid $567.98 in permit fees. No penalties were levied.

The department acted after The Times reported in April on the pool and other illegal construction work at the hillside house.

Steinbach said the department now considers Molina and Martinez to be complying with the law, since they obtained permits and are installing required safety equipment.

No fines or penalties were charged because the couple “have been very cooperative,” Steinbach said. “We only assess penalties when we need them as a tool to gain compliance.”

“Many people in L.A. do work and are unaware they need permits,” he added.

Molina, a county supervisor since 1991, also served for five years on the Los Angeles City Council and for four years in the state Assembly.

Steinbach said the department expects Molina and Martinez to finish modifying their pool area to meet safety requirements “within a week.”

City laws require new pools to be enclosed by a fence or wall with a self-closing gate to keep children from wandering into the pool.

Molina’s pool had been open on one side leading to a driveway gate. A driveway gate is not a legal enclosure.

The couple have installed a new gate to the pool to correct that problem, and Steinbach said they are putting in a required alarm that will sound if a door is opened.

Molina and Martinez did not respond to interview requests.

In an April interview, Martinez said he did not apply for building and mechanical permits for the pool because his contractor told him they were not required.

He also said city inspectors who had visited his house to check other remodeling work saw the pool and never mentioned that it might be illegal.

Steinbach said permits are required if a pool is larger than 250 square feet and more than 2 feet deep. Molina’s pool is 14 feet by 24 feet, or 336 square feet, and 4 feet deep, according to the permit obtained this month.

The value of the pool and deck is $7,376, according to the permits.

Steinbach said in April that the Building and Safety Department learned of the pool only after being questioned by a reporter.

Department records, however, show that the agency received a complaint about the pool in September 2000.

Steinbach said a department inspector examining a retaining wall at the house performed “a cursory inspection” of the pool after the complaint was made and thought it was small enough not to require a permit.