Buildings set for demolition after hearing

The city of Farmington is taking steps to clean up areas of the community.

In July the city held a dangerous buildings hearing for the first time in a number of years.

Farmington City Administrator Greg Beavers said at the hearing Building Commissioner Ed Pultz issued findings of two “dangerous buildings that we are scheduling for demolition.”

Those buildings – located at 103 N. Alexander St. and 41 Spruce St. – were vacant after the owners passed away with no estate established for the property.

“The properties were just seemingly abandoned and found to be a nuisance to the neighborhood,” Beavers said. “The city is tearing those down very shortly.”

The city has an ordinance in place under the building codes defining the steps to declaring a dangerous property. The code can be found on the city’s website at ecode360.com/29074618. 

First, the owner is notified and given a 30-day period of time to initiate repairs on the building or demolition.

After that time, Beavers explained, the owner is notified of the show cause hearing – giving the owner an opportunity to state their case as to why the building commissioner should not issue a “dangerous building” finding.

“(The owners) could say ‘I’ve got my building permit’ or ‘I’ve got my financing in place’,” Beavers said.

In the first two cases, the owners of the buildings are deceased.

“We posted notices on the property and ran ads in the Daily Journal for the heirs,” Beavers said, with no response.

If, after those 30 days, the building is not up to code, the ordinance states the city is responsible to bring the home up to code and bill the owner on a special tax bill.

“In most cases, once we get to that point, the homes will be torn down,” he said.

Another show-cause hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13 in regards to a property located at 826 Vernon St.

“This house is dilapidated and the city is going to ask the building commissioner to find that (as the case) so we can tear that home down as well,” he said.

Beavers said other properties have been identified and future hearings will be held.

It’s a step the city administrator said the council believed was important to take.

“In the mix of the new growth that we have and the new things going on around town – which is the focus of a lot of our attention – (the council) felt we need to spend more effort on nuisance abatement and elimination of blighted property,” Beavers said.

This abandoned residence at 103 N. Alexander St. is scheduled to be demolished. The home was found to be a “dangerous building” after a hearing in July held by the city.

The structure located at 41 Spruce St. in Farmington is the second identified as a dangerous building after a finding by Building Commissioner Ed Pultz. The city is using the “Dangerous Buildings” ordinance to identify nuisance properties in the community.

A show cause hearing for this building at 826 Vernon St. is scheduled for Sept. 13. During the hearing, the owner is required to show proof of intent to bring the structure up to code in a certain number of days.

Shawnna Robinson is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-518-3628 or srobinson@farmingtonpressonline.com