OXNARD : Bulldozers Raze Lemon Tree Hotel

Oxnard’s 25-year-old Lemon Tree Hotel, described by police as a center for drugs and prostitution, was demolished Tuesday.

Despite vigorous opposition by the motel’s former owner, Bertha Ochoa, the city Redevelopment Department condemned the property four months ago during a lengthy eminent-domain proceeding.

Ochoa was arrested twice on charges of interfering with the city’s condemnation of the structure in the 500 block of Meta Street.

The 44-room building was razed to make way for a public parking lot that will be part of a larger downtown redevelopment project, city officials said.

About 30 city officials, police and neighbors gathered Tuesday morning to watch bulldozers raze the structure. Ochoa was not among the spectators.

Mecky Myers, a consultant hired to manage the motel while locating affordable housing for the tenants, said, “No human being should ever be condemned to live in such a place.”

Myers said she spent three months living in the motel while finding housing for the residents. Last month, a Ventura County Superior Court judge ordered the last tenant, Theresa Melendi, to leave the building or be evicted by sheriff’s deputies.

A week later, deputies forced their way into Melendi’s apartment and removed all her personal belongings. Melendi was not in the motel at the time.