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Several houses in Boardman Township to be demolished before year's end
BOARDMAN
The township Zoning Department continues to demolish vacant houses as part of an effort to clean up neighborhoods, say zoning inspector Sarah Gartland and assistant inspector Marilyn Kenner.
“This is part of our strategy to stabilize the neighborhoods through demolition, because abandoned, vacant houses bring down property values, and can also lead to criminal activity. So we’re trying to stem that,” Kenner said.
The properties slated for demolition sometime this year are 87 Willow Drive, 93 Sciota Ave., 287 Oakley Ave., 7405 Hitchcock Road and 3923 Hopkins Road. These have been declared either a public-safety threat or uninhabitable by either the fire department or Mahoning County Board of Health.
Sixteen houses have been leveled since 2012.
Trustee Tom Costello expressed frustration at a board of trustees meeting July 28 with the process that has to be completed before the township can condemn a home. At the time, Costello said that the county board of health was not being cooperative in the process.
But township officials met with board of health officials Thursday about the issue, and said they had a better understanding of what the board can and cannot do to help.
“It sounded as if there may have been a little misunderstanding as to the scope of the board of health’s authority when it comes to public health nuisances ... and declaring properties [a nuisance],” said Patricia Sweeney, Mahoning County health commissioner.
“I think we walked out of there with a much better understanding of how we can all accomplish the same goal, and that is to take care of homes that are really a nuisance to neighbors,” Trustee Brad Calhoun said.
Sweeney said the health board can declare a property a nuisance or a threat to public safety, or that a property is unfit for human habitation. Sweeney said the board always has been responsive to complaints from Boardman Township.
“We are very supportive of one another. The townships are who we work with. They are our partners in public health,” she said. “The board of health is very responsive to the communities when they complain.”
To condemn and demolish a house, the property must first be declared a public-safety threat or uninhabitable. This determination can be made by the board of health, the fire department or building inspectors. At that point, the zoning department has the authority to demolish, repair or secure the property.
The demolition effort began in 2012, when Boardman received funding from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Moving Ohio Forward Grant, according to Kenner and Gartland. That grant, which was specifically for demolition projects, gave the zoning department $100,000. The board of trustees contributed an additional $100,000. Kenner said the department spent $116,000 and demolished 16 houses.
This latest plan is a continuation of that effort. “It was such a successful thing ... that the trustees want to set a side a little every year to demolish houses,” Gartland said.
Both Calhoun and Gartland said a number of the problem properties are houses that are in foreclosure or that have been abandoned by owners.
“I think our homes are aging and ... I definitely think the economy has a lot to do with people walking away and leaving their homes,” Calhoun said. “They were not putting money into maintaining their homes, and they did deteriorate quickly because of the economy.”
“Ultimately if we can return a house back to a single-family home, and it can be used, that’s great,” he said.
The demolition of two houses will be funded with $16,000 from the Community Development Block Grant, a federal grant that is divvied up by Mahoning County commissioners for local projects. Funds from the township will be used for the other houses the department plans to demolish.
Gartland and Kenner said they will begin demolishing houses in the fall, as grant money will be disbursed in October. Gartland said they hope to demolish those five properties by year’s end, as well as take care of a property at 5520 Mill Creek Boulevard that is an issue because of a pool. She said some of the work might roll into the spring of 2015.
Of the six properties the zoning department plans to tackle this year, the Willow and Hitchcock properties have been condemned, and the Hopkins property is subject to a board of health hearing. The Mill Creek property has yet to be declared a threat, so action there cannot yet be taken. Gartland said the board of trustees will most likely take action to condemn the Oakley and Sciota properties at their meeting Monday.
Gartland said the demolition effort is one of the zoning department’s top priorities this year. “It matters to us because it’s our community, too,” she said.