Home Spared From Demolition
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
At a hearing Monday, Warsaw Department of Code Enforcement Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford said he had before him an order to vacate, seal and demolish the property.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the city had brought the property forward this year for demolition. It had been foreclosed on and abandoned so the city sought to demolish it. A demolition order for it was ordered at the May meeting.
“It’s still the city’s position that the property needs to be brought up to standards or be demolished,” Skinner said. “With the new owner, I think the city is willing to give her the opportunity to bring it up to city’s standards, I should say housing standards at this point. But we want that done in a (reasonable) timeframe, not something that’s going to take years.”
The estimate for the cost of demolition of the property was about $13,200.
Sole owner Sherri Shafer Dalrymple presented Clifford and Skinner with a chart of her planned timeline to get the four-unit low-income apartment building up to city standards. She said she talked to Ray Behling, code enforcement, a couple of times about it.
Dalrymple said her plan was to repair one apartment and then rent it before repairing the next apartment, renting it, and moving on to the next apartment until all four apartments were completed.
“So I can get some income generated in the meantime, which obviously is the ultimate goal for myself,” she said.
She confirmed people would be living in apartments while work was progressing on the other apartments. Clifford asked about the common areas residents shared. Dalrymple said the only common areas would be some concrete, like steps, that need repairs, but that would be done before anyone moved in to the first apartment.
Dalrymple said all the work would be completed by February 2017.
Her friend helping her through the process, Chad Zartman, said some things like electrical work also would be done before anyone lived there.
Skinner said the city didn’t object to Dalrymple’s time frame in general. He did say it may change as inspections are completed, and some other items like exterior windows would have to be finished before anyone moved in.
Dalrymple reported Dean M. Illingworth, State Building Law Compliance Officer, won’t sign off on the building unless the city tells him it’s OK. Skinner said the city would talk to him about what the city is looking at in this situation. Clifford said the state may require more than what Dalrymple is expecting like crash bars on doors and exit signs since the building has more than three units. Skinner later said the state may want architectural drawings of the building’s repairs since it’s four units to show that it meets certain state requirements.
In his order, Clifford ordered that before the building is occupied, the windows must be replaced, the roof and the electric all must be fixed, debris must be removed, exterior steps must be repaired and the foundation must be done. There can be no occupancy until it passes inspection and there’s agreement with the state.
Asked for a cost of repairs, Dalrymple said she’s expecting to spend about $30,000.
He asked if the city wanted a bond for the repairs at this point. Skinner said if the work is progressing, the city could waive it. Clifford set a hearing for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 15 for Dalrymple to provide him with an update on the building rehab. At that point, he would decide whether or not to require a cash performance bond.
Clifford, Skinner, the Code Enforcement Department and Dalrymple then went to the property after the meeting for a site inspection.[[In-content Ad]]
At a hearing Monday, Warsaw Department of Code Enforcement Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford said he had before him an order to vacate, seal and demolish the property.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the city had brought the property forward this year for demolition. It had been foreclosed on and abandoned so the city sought to demolish it. A demolition order for it was ordered at the May meeting.
“It’s still the city’s position that the property needs to be brought up to standards or be demolished,” Skinner said. “With the new owner, I think the city is willing to give her the opportunity to bring it up to city’s standards, I should say housing standards at this point. But we want that done in a (reasonable) timeframe, not something that’s going to take years.”
The estimate for the cost of demolition of the property was about $13,200.
Sole owner Sherri Shafer Dalrymple presented Clifford and Skinner with a chart of her planned timeline to get the four-unit low-income apartment building up to city standards. She said she talked to Ray Behling, code enforcement, a couple of times about it.
Dalrymple said her plan was to repair one apartment and then rent it before repairing the next apartment, renting it, and moving on to the next apartment until all four apartments were completed.
“So I can get some income generated in the meantime, which obviously is the ultimate goal for myself,” she said.
She confirmed people would be living in apartments while work was progressing on the other apartments. Clifford asked about the common areas residents shared. Dalrymple said the only common areas would be some concrete, like steps, that need repairs, but that would be done before anyone moved in to the first apartment.
Dalrymple said all the work would be completed by February 2017.
Her friend helping her through the process, Chad Zartman, said some things like electrical work also would be done before anyone lived there.
Skinner said the city didn’t object to Dalrymple’s time frame in general. He did say it may change as inspections are completed, and some other items like exterior windows would have to be finished before anyone moved in.
Dalrymple reported Dean M. Illingworth, State Building Law Compliance Officer, won’t sign off on the building unless the city tells him it’s OK. Skinner said the city would talk to him about what the city is looking at in this situation. Clifford said the state may require more than what Dalrymple is expecting like crash bars on doors and exit signs since the building has more than three units. Skinner later said the state may want architectural drawings of the building’s repairs since it’s four units to show that it meets certain state requirements.
In his order, Clifford ordered that before the building is occupied, the windows must be replaced, the roof and the electric all must be fixed, debris must be removed, exterior steps must be repaired and the foundation must be done. There can be no occupancy until it passes inspection and there’s agreement with the state.
Asked for a cost of repairs, Dalrymple said she’s expecting to spend about $30,000.
He asked if the city wanted a bond for the repairs at this point. Skinner said if the work is progressing, the city could waive it. Clifford set a hearing for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 15 for Dalrymple to provide him with an update on the building rehab. At that point, he would decide whether or not to require a cash performance bond.
Clifford, Skinner, the Code Enforcement Department and Dalrymple then went to the property after the meeting for a site inspection.[[In-content Ad]]
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