The City of South Tucson has filed a lawsuit to force the demolition and removal of the Spanish Trail Motel.
The motel has experienced several fires since 2020, leaving the property "in serious disrepair and dereliction," a news release from South Tucson said.
The most recent fire took place at the property last Friday. It knocked out power to residents for several days.
According to the news release, the city is seeking a court order requiring the Spanish Trail Motel's owners, Torino Avenue LLC, to demolish all structures and remove them from the property.
“The property is more than an eyesore," South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela said in the news release. "The buildings are just piles of rubble containing asbestos, rodents and other pests, and the property is a hotspot for criminal behavior. There is no potential for rebuilding or rehabilitation. The nuisance property must be removed.”
The city's lawsuit is filed under a state law that allows the Pima County Superior Court to abate and prevent public nuisances and properties that are "injurious to health, offensive to the senses, or that interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property in the community."
