Written By - Tim Robertson
A neighbor emailed a question to us the other day. She was inquiring about the reason that homes in the area have been boarded up, and one home in particular that has been boarded up for over 2 years? After doing some research and help from our friends at the city, here is the answer.
3111 South 14th Street - Boarded up in 2010
3102 South 15th Street - Boarded up June 2012
1002 and 1004 South State Street - Boarded up April 2012
1031 South State - no info
At each of these properties, the issue for them being boarded up is the same, they had multiple building code violations and the city deemed them "unsafe for occupancy".
If a property is deemed "unsafe to occupy", the city has a process they follow to address the code violations with the property owner.
1. Written notice of code violations is given to the property owner. The owner has 18 days to respond to the city with a corrective plan.
2. If the owner does not make contact with the city to correct the issues within that 18 days, the city issues a fine and gives the owner an additional 30 days to respond. if the owner fails to respond, the city can issue up to nine additional notices and fines. This process can take a minimum of 11 months.
3. Once the city has assessed a total of ten notices, they can make a request to the county to certify the property deserted and condemned. Once the county gives the certificates the house condemned, the house can be demolished and property sold.
Throughout this process, the city is making every effort to communicate with the property owner to make a plan and correct the building violations. Because this is a legal issue, it takes a long time for the city to work through the process. In the meantime, the property sits boarded up and is a blight to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there is little that the neighborhood can do to help speed the process along. Thanks for the good question.
What if a few of us wanted to clean up a house in this condition to improve the look of the neighborhood. Would we need any special permission?
ReplyDeleteHi Hector. Anything off of the sidewalk is private property. I cannot tell you to go onto private property to clean it up. But, do you believe in the Blight Fairy??? From time to time, vacant properties that are a blight to the neighborhood are magically cleaned up, but nobody in the neighborhood know how it got done. Maybe the blight fairy should visit these properties you speak of.
DeleteThat's a great question. I got 2 homes near me that aren't boarded up, but there's no one living in them and they are not for sale. One of them really needs the lawn mowed at least. Is that ok to do?
ReplyDelete-David
Good question David. For homes that are NOT boarded up, but are vacant and have overgrown vegitation, debrus outside, or are a blight, start by calling the city's CARES Hotline 253 591-5001. Within 24 hours, a code enforcement officer will visit the propery and a letter will be sent to the property owner citing the issues and giving them a timeframe to correct the issues. If the property owner does not make the corrections they could be fined.
DeleteTim
I don't think the property owners own them anymore. I think that's part of the problem. One house was on the market for over a year, but didn't sell after dropping the price drastically...they walked away. What would you do in that case. There are many papers stuck to the door.
Delete-David
Thanks though Tim, I did call that number and left a message. We'll see what they can do about it.
Delete-David
Hey David. Yeah, the economy has been tough on folks and neighborhoods. There are some neighborhoods across the country that the majority of the homes on a street are vacant and destressed. I can't imagine being a property owner living in those areas right now.
DeleteTim
UPDATE
ReplyDeleteI got a little more information about these properties.
3111 S. 14th - The owner of this property passed away and the bank has taken the property. There is a sign on the property with the bank's phone number. If the property has issues, contact that number.
3102 S. 15th - The code enforcement officer had an appointment to meet witht the property owners. They did not show up for that meeting.
1002 & 1004 S. State - This porperty was boarded up due to drug activity. The owner is currently in jail.