La Quinta couple continues legal battle with city over backyard trellis
Gavin Nguyen
LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – The fight for one La Quinta couple’s yard decoration is not yet over.
Last December, News Channel 3 reported on Lynne and Harry Langdon, a couple who constructed a garden trellis in their backyard. A trellis is a decorative lattice structure that typically has plants or vines growing on it.
The City of La Quinta had red-tagged their home with a “Notice of Substandard Building” after the city cited them for a code enforcement violation, despite receiving the go-ahead from the city to construct the trellis without a permit. In December, after a three-year legal battle, they won their case against the city.
But according to Lynne Langdon, the city pursued the couple again just a couple of weeks later and deemed their home a “public nuisance.”
By April, Langdon said the city red-tagged their home again – this time, because of the setback for the trellis, rather than the height. The Langdons, however, maintain the city is abusing its power and wrongfully pursuing them over a violation that does not jeopardize health and safety.
“They have every ability to just dismiss it and move forward,” Langdon said.
According to Langdon, 24 “Notice of Substandard Building” notices have been filed against other homeowners in the city. She said most homeowners only found out when she informed them, which she also said represents internal failures within the city’s code enforcement division.
Eric and Keri Crumbaker, who own property in La Quinta, were presented with a Notice of Substandard Building from the city for a short-term rental permit violation. They were shocked to learn the notice had been applied to their property.
“We help people sell – we’re in real estate – so we get sellers all the time,” Keri Crumbaker said. “I’d say one out of 100 times, there’s something funky on there that they just didn’t know about, but it’s usually nothing to do with them. It was like improperly put on there, but to have something like this slapped on a property… that is not common.”
“In all reality, I’m not sure what I’m hoping comes of this, other than we get this lien released. I just hope the city starts acting as a professional entity,” said Eric Crumbaker.
Both the Crumbakers and Langdons tell KESQ they plan to file an injunction if the city does not change its processes for red-tagging La Quinta properties.
News Channel 3 reached out to the City of La Quinta for comment. A spokesperson for the city declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
Stay with KESQ for the latest.