San Diego is asking a court to address safety hazards at a downtown building that has been vacant since 2019. The city’s lawsuit accuses the companies behind the Sixth Avenue property of failing to comply with orders to secure and clean it, despite fires, a red-tag designation and the discovery of a dead man inside earlier this year.
Safety and Permit Allegations at the Sixth Avenue Site
The lawsuit concerns four parcels at 1323 and 1345 Sixth Ave. that have been vacant since 2019, according to KPBS. Daniels Investment Group acquired the property in 2024. The city alleges that a related company, Premium Parking Service, ran a parking business on the surrounding lots without required permits.
The city attorney’s office says police have responded to more than 50 calls involving trespassers and drug use at the site since Daniels Investment Group took ownership. KPBS reported that a dead man was found inside the building earlier this year. The property has also had multiple fires, including a three-alarm blaze in 2025; the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department red-tagged the structure as unsafe after the damage.
Orders the City Says Were Not Followed
The lawsuit alleges that the owners did not comply with a Notice of Abatement directing them to secure the building, hire security and remove trash and graffiti. It also alleges that the companies failed to establish a 24-hour fire watch after the city fire marshal ordered one.
City Attorney Heather Ferbert said the companies continued to collect money from the parking operation while disregarding safety orders, according to KPBS.
The Relief the City Seeks
The city attorney’s office is asking the court to declare the property a public nuisance, bar the companies from committing similar violations elsewhere in San Diego and impose civil penalties. KPBS reported that attempts to reach the companies for comment were not immediately successful.
Councilman Stephen Whitburn said the property’s safety hazards have concerned the community for too long and that residents and businesses deserve safe, clean neighborhoods, according to KPBS Public Media.
A Separate Vacant-Property Case
The Sixth Avenue lawsuit is distinct from the city attorney’s case against Caydon Property Group over the abandoned California Theater at 1122 Fourth Avenue. In a report published in 2023, 10News said that case sought to have the theater declared a continuing public nuisance and requested a $2,500 penalty for each day it violated city code. The Sixth Avenue lawsuit does not specify a comparable daily penalty.
San Diego’s municipal code describes immediate abatement and rehabilitation of vacant structures and lots with code or nuisance violations as necessary, and allows those matters to be pursued through judicial or administrative procedures, according to the City of San Diego. Separately, California Code of Civil Procedure section 731 allows a person whose property is injuriously affected, or whose personal enjoyment is lessened, by a nuisance to seek a court order to enjoin or abate it and to recover damages.
Enforcement Options for Vacant-Property Violations
The city’s abandoned-properties code also allows violations of that division to be pursued through injunctive relief and civil penalties in Superior Court, or through administrative remedies, according to the City of San Diego Municipal Code.
