Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Monticello officials last week took the next step in the condemnation process, declaring two derelict structures within the city a public nuisance and setting a deadline for correction of the problem before the city itself takes action.
Resolution 2021-01, which the Monticello City Council unanimously adopted on Tuesday evening, Jan. 5, identifies the property at 345 N. Olive St. as a threat to the community’s health, safety and general welfare and gives the owners a month to correct the problem or face the consequences.
The abatement entails clearing the property, which is overgrown with vines, shrubbery and debris, and demolishing two abandoned buildings, which have been determined to be un-repairable and to pose a hazard to children.
The council's action followed the city’s notification to the property owners, who reside in Texas. The owners did not appear before the council to contest the proposed condemnation, nor did they respond in any way to the city’s notification.
The council voted 5-0 to give the owners until Tuesday, Feb. 5, to abate the nuisance, after which time the city will move to clear the lot and demolish the two derelict structures, with the cost of the cleanup to be charged to the owners in the form of a special assessment on the property, which is coequal to a lien.
City officials initiated the two-step condemnation process in early November, declaring the city’s intent and allowing a month for the owners to be notified of the hearing before taking action. Because the council did not meet in December, however, the process was prolonged an extra month.
Properties or structures are typically declared public nuisances if they pose a danger in the form of an attractive nuisance to children; represent an eyesore that devalues adjoining property values or interferes with neighbors’ enjoyment of their own properties; or potentially threatens the community’s general health, safety and welfare.
Chapter 38 of the Monticello City Code sets the process by which the city may take action against nuisance properties, beginning with the adoption of a resolution to identify the structure’s unsuitability for habitation and setting a deadline for the abatement of the problem.
In November, City Attorney Bruce Leinback and City Manager Raymond Clark went through the legal steps to establish the structures’ unsuitability for habitation, based on an inspection of the property by the city manager and building inspector.
Clark in his presentation described the two structures as being in extreme disrepair, their supports deteriorated beyond repair, the electrical and plumbing inoperable, and the structures nowhere near to meeting code. He recommended taking down the two buildings.
Since 2009, when officials revised the city's public nuisance ordinance, they have been conducting a quiet but effective campaign to rid the city of unsightly and dangerous structures and to get property owners to clean up their properties.
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