The Santa Monica City Council approved a settlement with the owners of the Pavilions Motel on Feb. 24, ending years of litigation over the Ocean Park Boulevard property that city officials say became a hotspot for drug sales, violence and other criminal activity.
The council voted 7-0 to approve the agreement with owners Saeed Farzam and Goharshad Farzam, resolving two separate legal actions — a nuisance abatement lawsuit filed by the city against the motel owners and a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the owners challenging the revocation of their business license.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Farzams agreed to a set of restrictions on the property and their future business activities. The owners agreed not to reopen the motel, operate any other business at the property or allow any occupancy there. They also agreed to maintain the property in compliance with the city's drug abatement law and property maintenance, vacant property and public nuisance codes.
The settlement further prohibits the Farzams from owning any other motel in Santa Monica for a period of 10 years and bars them from transferring ownership of the property to a new owner unless through a legitimate arms-length sale to a buyer approved by the city. A $100,000 suspended penalty would be imposed for any violation of the settlement terms. As part of the agreement, the owners also agreed to dismiss their federal lawsuit against the city.
The Pavilions Motel, located at 2338 Ocean Park Blvd. in the Sunset Park neighborhood, had been the subject of enforcement actions stretching back nearly two decades. The Farzams have owned and operated the 20-unit budget motel since September 1990.
City officials said the property developed a notorious reputation as a location for open drug sales, prostitution, violence and chronic disorder — situated within two blocks of an elementary school and a public park.
The city's legal campaign against the property intensified in 2024. In May of that year, the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office filed a state nuisance abatement lawsuit — People of the State of California et al. v. Saeed Farzam et al. — alleging violations of the California Drug Abatement Act, state public nuisance law and the Santa Monica Municipal Code.
The complaint painted a detailed picture of alleged criminal activity at the property. According to court documents, drugs were routinely sold through motel-room windows and openly in the parking lot. Search warrants executed on a single motel room in January and February 2024 yielded approximately 146 grams of methamphetamine, 98 grams of fentanyl, drug packaging supplies, scales, a handgun and ammunition. A dealer separately operating from the motel's parking lot was federally indicted for possessing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and 80 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
The complaint also documented five deaths at the property since 2019, at least three of them linked to drug or alcohol abuse, including a suicide on the same day owner Saeed Farzam met with city officials. City officials said they had contacted the Farzams multiple times regarding problems at the property, but the owners allegedly ignored warnings and failed to make improvements despite years of complaints.
The city's civil lawsuit sought aggressive relief, including closure of the property for up to one year, $25,000 in individual civil penalties against each owner, sale of fixtures and moveable property used in the nuisance, and recovery of enforcement costs up to $1 million. The complaint also sought to require the owners to hire a third-party property management company and mandate that the owners or their representatives live on-site until nuisance conditions were resolved.
Separately, in June 2024, the city revoked the motel's business license. Following a six-day administrative hearing, a hearing examiner upheld the revocation in November 2024 but granted the owners a 90-day period to meet specific conditions — including hiring qualified overnight staff, addressing code violations and providing police access to security cameras. On March 24, 2025, the examiner issued a final ruling that the Farzams had failed to meet all mandated conditions, permanently closing the motel under current ownership for at least one year.
The motel's problems were not new. The city's lawsuit referenced a 2007 joint police and code enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of nearly a dozen people at the property, including Saeed Farzam himself, who was later convicted. The motel was temporarily closed following that operation before eventually reopening.
In response to the city's enforcement campaign, the Farzams filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Santa Monica in 2025, seeking at least $10 million in damages and reinstatement of their business license. The owners alleged the city violated their federal constitutional and civil rights and claimed they had complied with city requirements. The federal complaint also alleged that the city attorney indicated a potential resolution was possible if the owners "seriously considered" selling the property — an allegation the owners said suggested the city's enforcement was aimed not at addressing nuisance conditions but at coercing a property sale.
The settlement closes out both legal actions. City officials said the Code Enforcement Division, Police Department and City Attorney's Office will monitor the property to ensure compliance with Santa Monica's vacant properties code, which is designed to prevent abandoned buildings from becoming public nuisances.