Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning and Development Services Department

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager   

FROM:

Development Services Staff

CC:

Scott McCullough, Director Planning & Development Services

Date:

July 30, 2014

RE:

1246 Prairie Avenue

 

The referenced property has been inspected and found to be in violation of Sections 302.8 and 302.10 of the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, as adopted by the City Of Lawrence at Chapter 9, Article 6 of the City Code.  Staff has issued the appropriate notice of violation to Eugenia M. Sullivan (owner); however, she has not remediated the violations. As the attached pictures demonstrate, the property is blighted with an accumulation of trash, garbage, containers, illegally stored household items, fallen/dead tree branches, an inoperable school bus, etc.

                  

Therefore, in accordance with Section 106.5 (Abatement of Violation), staff is requesting that Resolution No. 7085 be adopted, which declares the property conditions to be in violation of City Code and injurious to the health, safety and welfare of the community, and orders the property owner to remove the violations by September 2, 2014. Should the owner fail to remove the violations, the City will contract to have the blighted conditions removed and all expenses incurred for the abatement would be the responsibility of the owner.

 

A brief chronology of recent contacts and enforcement actions is as follows:

 

Fall of 2013      Staff met with the Ms. Sullivan numerous times in an effort to facilitate the removal of the code violations, which resulted in progress being made. However, the violating conditions returned and increased in severity.

 

April 9, 2014     Staff inspected the property and determined the exterior premise of the property was blighted with an accumulation of trash, garbage, containers, illegally stored household items, yard waste, etc.  A Notice and Order was issued.

 

June 25, 2014   Staff inspected the property and did not see any improvement. Pictures were taken of the conditions, and a Notice and Order was re-issued to include the inoperable bus.

 

July 29, 2014    Staff inspected the property and determined the property remained unchanged.