Since 2006, the home at 276 E. 19th Street had been cited for trash and debris promoting calls to Code Enforcement and several court hearings taking place to address the problem.

 

Some of the issues were resolved at the time, but in 2013, Code Enforcement Officer Mike Brumbaugh was assigned the case following reports of people living in the home while the ceiling was falling in. After speaking to neighbors and inspecting the property he could see it was in substandard condition.

The city tried to contact the owner to do a walk-through. All of the city’s requests were ignored and walk-through was never scheduled. The city attorney’s office then went to court for an inspections warrant, which was granted. Police and fire personnel accompanied code enforcement on the inspections, where the home was discovered to be unlivable due to health and safety issues.

Ultimately, the home was red-tagged and boarded up. After it was put into receivership, trash and debris was removed. The case was extended by the courts for several years until recently when the home was leveled and is now just a dirt lot. The lot will be sold and money will be divvied up between the receiver and owner.