City Threatens Demolition Of Fort Wayne Ave. Apt. Building
City Threatens Demolition Of Fort Wayne Ave. Apt. Building
Posted
Dan Spalding-
City Threatens Demolition Of Fort Wayne Ave. Apt. BuildingThe city of Warsaw is threatening to demolish an apartment building on North Fort Wayne Avenue in which the landlord has been slow to address code enforcement violations.
The house has been under scrutiny by the city for months after it was learned that at least one apartment was being used without electricity or running water.
While some repairs have been made – mostly by a tenant – the city believes there could be structural issues with the roof and a porch.
Ralph Fitch, a Larwill man who owns the house at 214 N. Fort Wayne Ave., Warsaw, said he finally was able to evict a man who had been living in the apartment without utilities. That happened in the past week or so.
Fitch has repeatedly expressed concern for his wellbeing. Fitch has told the city repeatedly that he feared the tenant and that that was part of the reason more repairs have not been made.
The city’s administrative judge for code enforcement, Tom Earhart, reviewed the case during a hearing Tuesday.
After reviewing all of the circumstances with Fitch, Earhart ordered the two-apartment building be demolished and told Fitch he has 10 days to appeal the ruling in court.
Fitch appeared at Tuesday’s hearing with the other tenant, a woman who has four children and who has worked to make some of the improvements in the building.
One representative of the city building office questioned if Fitch is actually in control of the property.
Fitch replied, “I got no power over nobody anymore.”
Fitch said the city’s demand that he evict the other tenant has left that person “homeless” and said the same thing is happening to the woman because of the demolition order.
The one tenant was evicted after the county health department issued a condemnation order for lack of utilities.
The woman spoke and expressed a willingness to stay and said the roof is now fixed.
“Right now, I don’t have no place to go,” she said.
Earhart said he's sorry about the circumstances for the woman, but said the city has a responsibility to keep residents safe.
The city's code enforcement staff has had a history with Fitch, including at least one other demolition.
“Merry Christmas,” Fitch repeated twice.
Dana Hewitt, the city code enforcement officer, replied, "You can thank the owner for that one."
Hewitt, afterward, said much of the demolition process, if it moves forward, will happen after Christmas.
In a different case, the city fined a property owner for being slow in responding to problems with apartment buildings at 303 S. Indiana St. and 422 S. Union St.
An attorney for SkyTeam Properties said significant progress has been made, but asked for an extension of time before fines were assessed. Earhart turned down the request.
As a result, a fine of $100 was imposed for each of 11 violations still not addressed. The original list included 23 items. The owners could face additional fines depending on the update expected on Jan. 11.
In another case, the city is seeking to learn more about a partially constructed house on Kimal Trail that apparently was never inspected and has numerous building code deficiencies. The land is on the southern tip of a channel on the north side of Pike Lake. The property owners have taken the contractor, JW Stookey Construction, to court.
Earhart said he wants representatives from all parties in the dispute to attend the Jan. 11 code enforcement meeting to determine how to move forward.
