Cathedral City man raises concerns over empty Sam’s Club building on Date Palm Drive

CBS Local 2 “Stands for You”, so we are responding to a call for help. A Cathedral City man is drawing attention to what he calls an “eyesore” and a “threat to public safety”. It’s the empty Sam’s Club building on Date Palm Drive. Tom Tucker looked into the man’s concerns and how the city and property owner are responding.

Shaw Zaidins contacted CBS Local 2 and asked us to “Stand for him”, in response to his concerns over the vacant building in the city, which once housed Sam’s Club.

Mostly empty since 2006 when Sam’s Club moved out, Zaidins, who lives nearby, says homeless people are living in and around the building, and he also has concerns about trash on the property and neglected landscaping.

On his behalf, CBS Local 2’s Tom Tucker contacted the city and the property owner to see what might be done to address Zaidin’s concerns.

“There are numerous issues regarding deferred maintenance on the site, which are quite visible to the naked eye,” said Zaidins.

Zaidins says his concerns include homeless people living around and in the abandoned retail location, trash left around the property, including empty liquor bottles left in the parking lot, and trees and bushes that are either dying or overgrown.

Also. the high school teacher says he’s concerned about the potential threat transients at the property pose to children walking to and from Cathedral City Elementary School on Converse Road, which is right around the corner from the Sam’s Club building.

“This is not a homeless encampment, especially so close to a public school,” said Zaidins.

Wanting improvements, and feeling like the city was not holding the property owner accountable, Zaidins contacted CBS Local 2, and asked us to help.

After listening to his concerns, we asked the city what will be done to clean up the property, and to keep transients away from the building.

“Well, anytime you have a property owner that is not on site, you have the risk of blight,” said Cathedral City Communications Manager Chris Parman.

He tells us one day after CBS Local 2 informed the city of Zaidins complaints against the property, city code enforcement issued an administrative citation against the building owner, the “Charles Company”, based in Los Angeles.

The $322 dollar citation gives the company 30 days to bring the building “up to code”, including removing trash. securing doors and windows, and improving landscaping.

We spoke by phone with Ron Graves, the property manager representing the owner, who said they are “working to correct all the issues listed in the citation” and they expect to “have all the work completed within 30 days, if not sooner.”

“This property owner has always been responsive to the city in the past, and I think they will be responsive in the future,” said Parman.

When it comes to transients, Parman says the city has requested a “trespassing waiver” from the property owner, that would allow Cathedral City police officers onto the property and into the building to get people off the property.

As far as a new tenant, Parman would only say the city is “in negotiations”, with a prospective tenant, and said the building could be used for something “other than retail”.

Whatever happens, Zaidins simply wants the place to remain cleaned up, and properly secured.

“I’m very frustrated knowing that property values could be influenced by this lack of maintenance, which ultimately affects us all, including city hall,” said Zaidins.

For anyone in Cathedral City who wants to report potential code violations, grafitti, or concerns about homeless people, it’s easy to do using an app offered by the police department.

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