Board of Appeals

HOUSING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING MINUTES November 18, 2015 CITY HALL 10 N. DIVISION STREET COMMISSION CHAMBERS 3RD FLOOR – ROOM 301 BATTLE CREEK MI 49014 Call to Order: 1:00pm Roll Call for Board Members: Kara Werner, Stan Chubinski, Robert Whitfield, Andy Harrison Staff Members Present: Dennis McKinley, Code Compliance Administrator; Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager; Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector; Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer; Elijah Martin, Senior Code Officer; Lisa Silkworth, Secretary; Asst. City Attorney C Marcel Stoetzel. Additions/Deletions to the Agenda: Remove 226 Lathrop and 169 Post Ave – the houses have been demolished. Approval of Minutes: none to approve Board Vote for Chair and Vice Chair: Mr. Whitfield made a motion to nominate Mr. Chubinski for Chair Person, seconded by Mr. Harrison. All approved. Mr. Chubinski is the Chair Person. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to nominate Mr. Whitfield for Vice Chair, seconded by Mr. Harrison. All approved. Mr. Whitfield is the Vice Chair. Old Business: a. 174 Cherry St – 2nd Appeal Issue#EN15-04163 Code Compliance Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, Steven Halldorson, present. Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager, reported for Todd Nowicki that some progress had been made. Mr. Halldorson stated some work had been done but his contractor needed more time. Mr. Halldorson requested a forty- five day extension. Mr. Halldorson stated his original contractor has no time to complete the work so he will need to find a new contractor. Mr. Halldorson stated he has a contract but his contractor could not complete it in thirty days. Mr. Francisco clarified the compliance date. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to grant an extension to December 15, 2015, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Extension granted. Dangerous Buildings Show Cause Hearings: Housing Board of Appeals November 18, 2015 Page 2 of 5 a. 135 S 22nd St (House) Issue#EN10-02796 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to affirm the order as written due to no owner present, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Affirmed. b. 54 E Baldwin ( House) Issue#EN15-04256 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Lai Chui, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chui stated he needs more time as he had to tend to his rental house. Mr. Chui purchased the house from a tax sale. Mr. Chui stated it will be a rental property. Dennis McKinley, Code Compliance Administrator, recommended affirming the property as a dangerous building. Mr. Wilkinson also recommended affirming it as a dangerous building. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Affirmed. c. 248 Capital Ave NE (House) Issue#EN14-23719 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Attorney Jim Lance for Jeffrey Marlot, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Lance is asking for an adjournment. Mr. Lance is requesting to postpone for thirty days. Mr. Wilkinson recommended affirming the property as a dangerous building. Asst. City Attorney C. Marcel Stoetzel clarified the request from Attorney Lance. Ms. Werner clarified the date of the original inspection. Mr. Harrison made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed d. 312 Capital Ave NE (House) Issue#EN15-04260 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Housing Board of Appeals November 18, 2015 Page 3 of 5 Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Ms. Werner made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Affirmed. e. 374 Cliff (House) Issue#EN15-04253 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Lai Chui, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house had been vacant and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chui stated he needed more time. Mr. Chui stated he bought the property from the tax sale. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed f. 226 Lathrop (House) Issue#EN15-04261 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Removed g. 15 Merritt (House) Issue#EN15-04254 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to affirm the order as written due to no owner present, seconded by Ms. Werner. Affirmed. h. 68 Oaklawn (House) Issue#EN15-04252 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to affirm the order as written due to no owner present, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Affirmed. Housing Board of Appeals November 18, 2015 Page 4 of 5 i. 169 Post Ave (House) Issue#EN15-04255 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Removed j. 216 Spring (Commercial) Issue#EN15-04083 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the building has been vacant for more than 180 days and lacks maintenance. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to affirm the order as written due to no owner present, seconded by Ms. Werner. Affirmed. New Business: 1. 363 Capital Ave SW Issue#EN15-05283 Code Compliance Officer: Elijah Martin Property owner, Kirk Scott, present. Elijah Martin, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted during a routine inspection. Mr. Scott stated he needed more time due to being on a fixed income. Mr. Martin stated he is making corrections on another property as well. Mr. Martin recommended granting a thirty day extension. Mr. Chubinski made a motion to grant an extension to December 15, 2015, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Extension granted. 2. 73 W Grand Circle Issue#EN15-04739 Code Compliance Officer: Elijah Martin Property owner, not present. Elijah Martin, Senior Code Officer, stated he had spoken with the property owner and will inspect the house tomorrow. Mr. Harrison made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Ms. Werner. Affirmed. 3. 98 Warren St Issue#EN14-18812 Code Compliance Officer: Tom Engels Housing Board of Appeals November 18, 2015 Page 5 of 5 Property owner, Debra Miller, present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, stated the property owner had made progress but was not finished. Ms. Miller stated she needed more time and could not reach the high portions of the house. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to grant an extension to April 19, 2016 due to the tolling period, seconded by Mr. Harrison. Extension granted. 4. 103 Warren St Issue#EN14-18814 Code Compliance Officer: Elijah Martin Property owner, not present. Mr. Harrison made a motion to affirm the order as written due to no owner present, seconded by Ms. Werner. Affirmed. Public Comments: none Board and Staff Members Comments: none Adjournment: 1:50pm The City of Battle Creek will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audiotapes of printed materials being considered in the meeting upon reasonable notice to the City of Battle Creek. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the City of Battle Creek by writing or calling the following: Vicki Houser, City Clerk 10 N. Division Street Battle Creek, Michigan 49014 (269) 966-3348/Voice/TDD /lms