The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Days numbered for derelict houses
Council members recount how run down properties affect pride of neighborhoods
Demolitions will resume soon for the eyesore houses that are devaluing and demoralizing
Lorain’s neighborhoods, said Mayor Jack Bradley.
On June 1, Lorain City Council members pounced when Bradley announced plans to ramp up efforts to tear down dwellings that are falling down.
The discussion grew from inquiries about unsightly conditions, such as numerous homes and some city lots where tall grass has shot up this spring.
The city Building, Housing and Planning Department is on notice to take action this year on demolitions, Bradley said.
“I’ve given them a goal of at least tearing down five houses per month,” he said.
The work could include city workers using heavy equipment such as backhoes to take down the structures, instead of bidding out the work for contractors, Bradley said.
Ward 1 Councilwoman Beth Henley asked about environmental requirements.
Many demolitions need removal of asbestos, Henley pointed out.
Bradley confirmed that work must be done, as required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The Board of Control on June 3 also approved a contract with consulting firm TRC to examine 20 properties for asbestos.
Henley said in the past, she has compiled a list of homes that should be torn down to stabilize property values and security in the neighborhoods.
“I’m concerned on these five properties, that they get done,” she said. “These are properties, there’s been deaths in them, I’ve got kids going in and out. They’re beyond repair.
“These will help stabilize some of these neighborhoods that they’re in. Because there’s 20, 30 nice homes and one eyesore.”
Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Springowski said she rode with Henley around the ward to see the worst offenders.
Another vacant house on West 20th Street has become a drug hangout, Springowski said, and others around the city are “just burned out husks that are
caving in on themselves.”
“I got the message,” Bradley said, also giving the example of houses that should be taken down on his own home street.
The vacant homes look terrible, are unsafe spaces for people to go in and are a fire hazard, he said.
“We can’t just keep kicking it down the road,” the mayor said, or the list will continue to grow. “It’s going to help our city so we’re going to do it.”
Councilman-at-Large Mitch Fallis said the target list of homes has languished for years.
Bradley said he emphasized that point to Building, Housing and Planning Director Max Upton, who has set a goal of 15 demolitions by the end of July.
“You’re right, some of these houses have been on that demo list I think since the end of 2017, a bunch from 2018, 2019,” Bradley said to Fallis.
The mayor cited examples of derelict homes just down the street from City Hall.
“I don’t want people that are coming through Lorain to see bad houses,” Bradley said.
He encouraged council members to send in photos of the worst properties in their wards.
“We want to get as many as possible demolished,”
Bradley said.
Homes for sale?
Fallis praised the possibility of city workers knocking down the structures.
Ward 6 Councilman Rey Carrion agreed it is exciting and asked about the possibility of hiring new employees to raze the homes.
The job likely will be carried
out by a dedicated crew of current workers, Bradley said.
Clearing 15 houses by the end of July could be difficult because those projects may take four or five days from start to finish, which includes filling in basements, grading and seeding the sites, Carrion said.
“I like the aggressiveness,”
he said. “I would feel more comfortable in the 10 range, especially just to plan.
“If we can do 15, great. But from my experience in 30 plus years, I think that might be tough to accomplish. But I certainly commend the effort and I think that’s something we should have been contemplating many years ago.”
Carrion also suggested a
program that other municipalities use to sell homes for $1 for people to restore.
In the past, some houses that could have been rehabilitated easily, ended up on the demolition list, and some homes in serious need of demolition were not on the list, he said.
Lagging projects
The demolitions were one of a number of projects lagging behind, Bradley said.
Lorain City Hall and municipal workers still have furloughs due to the looming economic effects of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Henley noted she received calls about tall grass at Century Park, which will come under Lorain County Metro Parks control this year.
Also, Ward 3 Councilwoman Pamela Carter and Carrion said residents create a problem by leaving grass clippings in the streets.
Ward 5 Councilwoman JoAnne Moon commented on nuisance conditions such as junk cars, houses only half painted and lack of sidewalks.
Carrion suggested a committee meeting to discuss businesses that keep storage containers on site.
Council has passed legislation limiting the longterm use of portable storage boxes on private property.