05-23-2016 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 9, 2016 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 27 of 28 21. HAZARDOUS PROPERTY, 3907 CHERRY AVENUE City Attorney Mattick stated this property is located at 3907 Cherry Avenue. Pictures of the property have been included in the Council packet depicting a number of items laying around in the yard, which would be in violation of the City’s regulations. The City first attempted to contact the property owner in 2013 to remedy these issues but a letter sent to the property was returned as undeliverable. Staff has no alternative contact information for the property owner. The home on the property has been boarded up and is currently vacant. The issues existing on the exterior of the property constitute a hazard to public health and safety. The action being requested tonight is seeking permission to file the necessary paperwork to get this action initiated. All costs associated with the cleanup would be assessed to the property. Mattick stated he anticipates personal service will not be obtained in this case and that the City has to publish the notice for six weeks in the City’s legal newspaper, which is required by state statute. Mattick stated to the City’s knowledge the residence is vacant. Jennifer Dunzel, 1545 Maple Place, which is the immediate adjacent property. Dunzel stated she has resided in Orono for four years and the property has continued to deteriorate over the years. Dunzel indicated she has written several letters to the City and County regarding this property. Dunzel questioned why the City is not deeming the home itself to be a hazardous property and address that at this time since this feels like a partial solution. Dunzel noted there are 27 children in the immediate vicinity aged 0 to 10 and that it is a very dangerous situation. Dunzel stated she would like something to be done as soon as possible. Dunzel noted the taxes on the property are delinquent and that the house is mice infested. Dunzel asked whether the City Council can work with the County or other action beyond this to deal with the structure itself. Mattick stated the County is solely responsible for the tax forfeiture portion of it and they can decide to auction it off at any time. In terms of cleaning up the property beyond the exterior, that is something the City can look at, but as a governmental entity, the City cannot just enter that property even if it is presumed to be vacant. Mattick stated some other steps would need to be taken before the City would be able to do that and that there would need to be a report stating that the house is structurally unsound and not that it just looks bad. Levang stated phase one is to clean up the exterior. Levang asked how the City can condemn the building and remove it, which is what the City has done on other properties. Mattick stated the last house the City condemned had sustained some serious fire damage and it was clear that it needed to be torn down. Mattick stated code violations by themselves are not enough to tear down the building, but that in his opinion there is enough there for the City to obtain an administrative search warrant, which would allow them to enter the building to determine whether it is structurally sound. If it is determined to be structurally insufficient, the City can seek an order to tear it down. Mattick indicated he has not taken that step yet, but that in his view an administrative search warrant would be relatively easy to get.