Laserfiche WebLink
<br />City of Centerville <br />July 24, 2002 <br />Council Meeting Minutes <br /> <br />Council Member Nelson indicated she was asking to find out how to have the structure <br />declared not livable. <br /> <br />City Attorney Hoeft indicated there is a statute with regard to hazardous structures and <br />explained that the building official needs to look at it and make certain findings as far as <br />the status of the structure and whether the building official deems it to be hazardous for <br />whatever reason. <br /> <br />Council Member Nelson referred to the letter from a neighbor that references the smell of <br />trash and the fact that there are rodents. <br /> <br />City Attorney Hoeft indicated he would prepare an order for Council containing the <br />findings of the building official and Council would hold a public hearing and decide <br />whether it wants to approve the order declaring the building hazardous. The order would <br />then be served on the property owner and any interested parties and they would have an <br />opportunity to answer that in district court before a judge who would make the <br />determination whether to uphold the City's order. Finally, if the judge upholds the City's <br />order, the City would have the right to go in and raze the building and all costs, including <br />attorney's fees would be assessed to the property owner. <br /> <br />City Attorney Hoeft indicated the process is effective but it is time consuming suggesting <br />it could take from six to eight months to complete. <br /> <br />Council Member Broussard Vickers indicated there were other options and said the City <br />has actually hired workers to go in and clean it up. She then said that going in and <br />cleaning up the property and assessing the fees to the property could continue to happen <br />as this individual has been in this type of situation before. She then asked what would be <br />involved with a condemnation. <br /> <br />City Attorney Hoeft indicated it would be the same process that Council had authorized <br />for the Royal Oaks Industrial Park property. He then said that the option is available to <br />the City because eradicating blight is a public purpose. He further indicated that the <br />condemnation process is even more cumbersome than the hazardous structure process. <br /> <br />Council Member Broussard Vickers asked who compensates the person if the house is <br />leveled. She then commented that the City incurs a lot of cost and gets rid of the <br />structure but the land is still there and owned by the same individual. <br /> <br />Council Member Nelson indicated she would not like to see the City use eminent domain <br />unless the individual did not pay taxes then the property could be repossessed for lack of <br />taxes. <br /> <br />City Attorney Hoeft indicated he was not familiar with the property and asked if anyone <br />lived there. Council Member Nelson indicated that the residence is occupied. <br /> <br />Page I I of22 <br />