Staff Reports

 

Chino Hills – Residents and officials are not happy with a residential home that has allegedly turned into a Chinese maternity hotel, which is against city code enforcement law.

 

City staff inspected a property at 15250 Woodglen Drive in Chino Hills through a court order on Nov. 19 and a public complaint was filed on Dec. 7.

 

Through the court-ordered inspection, city officials discovered that the home has been used to house 30 pregnant Chinese women that have come from China to give birth on United States soil.

 

The inspection also revealed that a resident was charged $150 a day for a medium-size room. An invoice showed another tenant paid $27,000 for her prenatal and postpartum care, according to local reports.

 

The “hotel” has been reported to be offering $5,000 to $15,000 packages, according to notinchinohills.org. These packages include transportation, meals, tours, and a hospital stay before returning to China with their American-born babies.

 

Officials observed raw sewage “flowing down” the property and determined that the septic system was failing, according to a city report.

 

Co-owners Hai Yong Wu and Yi Wang, who own the home built in the mid 70’s, purchased the home through a California based corporation, Los Angeles Hermas, Inc. They face numerous code enforcement violations.

 

Through property meter readings, the city was able to determine that more than 100,000 gallons of water, or an average of 4,000 gallons per day, was being used at the facility from Sept. through Dec 2012. Septic systems in that area were designed to handle only 1,500 gallons a day, almost one third of the current use, the complaint said.

 

The city also observed a dining area, dining schedule, a “lobby”, recreation areas, a luggage dolly, and brochures advertising the hotel as “USA Los Angeles Hermas International Guidance on How to Have an American Baby,” the complaint said.

 

Chino Hills City Mayor, Peter Rogers, said that until the 14th Amendment of the Constitution is amended or eliminated, what is being done by the operators of these birthing tourism programs is not illegal, according to last week’s City Council meeting minutes.

 

The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution states a child born in the US is granted citizenship and will receive a birth certificate.

 

Chino Hills residents protested off of Peyton Avenue and Chino Hills Parkway early last month regarding the “hotel”. Residents held signs saying “Not in Chino Hills, Not Anywhere” and “No Birth Tourism”.

 

Among the protestors was the “Not in Chino Hills” group, which was organized just a few weeks ago. According to their website, the mission of “Not in Chino Hills” is to preserve their family oriented community. The alleged Maternity Hotel is their first issue to face.

 

The City Attorney, Mark Hensley, announced at the Dec. 11 council meeting that their office will seek an immediate order requiring the operations at the property cease, and that the property “cannot be inhabited until brought to compliance with city zoning, building and safety codes.”

 

Hensley also said there is the possibility of a court hearing within the next four weeks.

 

The inspection report also indicates the home had been subdivide, without proper permits, lacked emergency escape windows, unpermitted gas lines for a secondary kitchen, no smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, and unpermitted electrical and plumbing connections in the 17 room facility. Rooms also resembled a hotel, with matching monograms, keyed locks on each door, and water buckets to wash with.

 

The home appears to be empty now with the lights completely out at night and the property appears to be uninhabited, according to local reports. But some have reported seeing construction trucks that appear to be working on sewer lines.

 

Several calls to Wu and Wang were not answered nor returned.