City of San Diego sues California Theatre owners for creating public nuisance

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Attorney on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the owners of the California Theatre for creating a public nuisance.

The building has sat vacant for decades and drew in the wrong kind of attention.

The city attorney said the lawsuit is the last resort to make the building and the area around it a safe place.

"Patience has worn thin because it's now health and safety. We can't stand by and wait for them to get their act together. They need to do something now," said City of San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott.

The City of San Diego is suing the owners of the California Theatre, Caydon Property Group which is based in Australia.

The attorney argues because the owners are letting the building sit vacant with no plans for safety changes, it created a public nuisance.

"Its roof is close to falling through. We don't even feel it's safe enough for city personnel to walk through so we used a drone to look inside of it, and it's in terrible condition," Elliott said.

The theatre was built in 1927 in the heart of downtown on the corner of C Street and Fourth. It once showed silent movies. Now it's been shuttered for more than 30 years. It is riddled with lead, asbestos, a scene of assaults, vandalism, series of fires, all of which are violations of city code.

The San Diego Fire Department has declared the theatre structurally unsafe, marked with a placard outside the building...