The Moreno Valley Mall reopened after a two week closure due to fire safety hazards on March 5, under four conditions regarding violation corrections and safety precautions needed.
The four conditions in a letter agreement include another immediate closure notice for the mall, if the remaining corrections are not made by March 31.
Mall owner Matt Ilbak and Moreno Valley City Manager Brian Mohan made the letter agreement on March 4 after a requested inspection took place the day before. The agreement stated that the mall must temporarily seal the two fire rated doors that keep smoke out in emergencies if they wished to open.
The agreement continued, stating the same two fire rated doors need to be repaired or replaced by March 31, the emergency generators need to be repaired or replaced prior to the permit expiration and the mall must keep “qualified fire watch individuals” to monitor the ongoing issues until they have cleared an inspection.
The final part of the agreement states that the mall is liable for any injury or harm to a person or property, and will compensate the city in the case of an evacuation or fire.
Viewpoints could not reach mall management for comment.
The temporary closure of the mall, which began on Feb. 19, was an abrupt decision but deemed necessary for public safety by the Riverside Fire Department, CAL Fire and city officials. Business owners and employees in the mall were directly impacted by the sudden closure and were ready to return when given a one day notice of the reopening.
Lizbeth Toribio, Luna’s Sunday Cafe owner said the coffee shop has only been located in the mall for about a year. She said both of her parents and her brothers work with her so the closure affected the entire family.
“We got the notice, I want to say three hours before closing that day so it just kind of left us all shocked,” Toribio said. “We closed but I guess at first I didn’t really want to believe it.”
Toribio said the first day back in store was busy but she still feels unsure and worries about the future of the mall.
Drew Nevarez, Lids store manager said he relied on social media pages like morenovalleymatters to check on progress updates for the mall. Nevarez claimed he didn’t hear communication from mall management during the closure except for what was posted on Instagram, where he was informed of the reopening the night before.
“We were always prepared to come back,” Nevarez said. “It was really more just playing it day by day.”
