The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
DEMO BOARD ADDS 8 HOUSES TO HIT LIST
Properties so run down they have become nuisances to public health
Another eight houses were added to Lorain’s knock down list during a Dec. 20 hearing.
The Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals added the properties to the city’s standing list of houses that are so run down they have become nuisances to public health.
However, the ruling does not lead to immediate razing.
City administrators have said the work is important to maintain a record of structures to demolish if money becomes available.
The meeting included the panel of building, fire and health staff who inspect the properties and present their findings for consideration.
“We’ve got some nice ones this month,” said Safety-Service Director Dan Given.
“Wait till next month,” said Housing Inspector Chris Yates, who usually leads the presentations with displays of multiple photographs to show the conditions at each house.
The houses condemned were:
• 202 E. 23rd St. There are broken windows, failing siding and a garage door was gone, so the garage was full of trash.
Inside, the ceiling was gone in the dining room.
The back taxes on the house are $11,402, according to records from the city and Lorain County Auditor’s Office.
• 207 W. 25th St.
The house has a failing foundation and trees growing
“We’ve got some nice ones this month.”
— Lorain Safety-Service Director Dan Given
directly next to the foundation, causing cracks.
Inside there is mold, a collapsed ceiling in a bathroom and other problems.
The back taxes are $9,763.
• 312 W. 26th St. “This was a fire,” sometime in the spring, and the inspection took place in June, Yates said.
The house has a tilted foundation wall, failing ceilings and light coming through the roof, making it visible on the second floor. Back taxes are $4,169.
• 516 W. 24th St. Someone attempted to scrap a car in the yard.
The basement wall is bowing and one room had animal feces piled up.
Despite the mess, the house showed evidence of
the presence of squatters, Yates said.
Back taxes are $7,971.
• 1130 W. 17th St. There is trash dumped on the property and the house is filled with mold.
The foundation has “fallen in so much, the windows are coming out,” Yates said.
The back taxes are $1,987.
• 2216 East Ave.
The foundation is caving in, a porch is failing and the interior is full of debris.
“Somebody had to squat in here at some point,” Yates said.
One room had a four-foot tall pile of rubbish and it appeared the house was used as a dump for other construction debris.
Back taxes are $3,646.
• 2375 Apple Ave. Apparently, the home still contains some belongings of the former owner, who is deceased, Yates said.
The ceiling is caving in,
the roof is in poor shape, there is a hole in the second floor and the first floor joists are failing.
Some material was dripping, creating stalactites hanging from the floor joists that form the ceiling of the basement.
“I’ve been told that this house has been like this for 10 years,” Yates said. Back taxes are $10,567. • 2380 Apple Ave.
At one point, possibly 2015, it looked like someone tried to do rehabilitation work in the house, Yates said.
Now, the house is loaded with black mold, he said.
“This is all, I hate to say it, animal feces, holes in the walls,” Yates said.
Back taxes are $2,490.
In other business
Condemning houses is not the only duty of the demo board.
On Dec. 20, board members heard from attorney Neal Hubbard, who said Estella Willis, owner of 929 W. 14th St., has filed for a stay of demolition while the house is repaired.
The work will take up to seven months and cost up to $8,000.
Yates also said renovations are almost complete in another home on Oakdale Avenue.
After another inspection, the home may be removed from the demolition list in January.
In January, the board likely will consider conditions of Iglesia Del Dios Vivo church, 1714 Reid Ave.
On Nov. 10, a fire ripped through the church and fire Chief Matt Homolya said the remaining walls and bell tower of the building will have to be torn down.
The next Demolition Board of Appeals is scheduled for Jan. 17. Meetings are open to the public.