Nothing can be done about this (in East Liverpool)
One ORL reader recently reminded us that "a man's home is his castle," implying that private property rights trump the community's interests. Here is one of those "castles" on my street. For years, my neighbor and I have been trying to get the city to condemn this abandoned structure and force the owner to tear it down, but we've been told that as long as the owner claims to live there, nothing can be done. Yes, that's a plastic tarp serving as the roof, but it doesn't cover the gaping hole on the right side. The van in front of the garage hasn't been moved in several years, and there is another derelict vehicle on the other side of the house. Click to enlarge.
posted by M. | 2:55 PM
11 Comments:
Matt, I suppose this is all related to the fine line we struggle with between personal property rights and government infringement. We all say the government should just-fill in any just cause-and what the current law actually permits. We own property adjacent to TS&T are partially "in the loop" on most legal filings. As stated in the last thread, it's a tragic combination of property owners and government apathy. The WVDEP referred action for hazardous material violations against the pottery property owners and the gentleman who was doing the demolition to the Hancock County prosecutor, who declined and referred it to the Wheeling Dist. federal prosecutor, who refused to proceed. A request for a "cause of action" ruling in Kanawa County court has also been shelved. Right now, nothing will be done until September of 2013, when the current consent decree expires and the property will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. These types of actions, it appears, just are not glamerous enough for the judicial system take on. It is a self perpetuating system that allows the vioalters to skate by with apparent immunity. And they know it. As you said, it's going to take someone-voters?-to finally say "enough".
WV--
The TS&T situation is a tragedy, not only for those of you in Chester, but for the entire Tri-State Area. The political paralysis is beyond belief. Owning property SHOULD come with responsibilities, but none of it matters if the lawyers and politicians refuse to act. Chester residents should all get together and set the remains on fire.
The derelict property problem is not exclusive to East Liverpool. I can go to Wellsville, St. Clair township, or Chester and find the same problem. The entire tri-state area has this problem.
Doesn't the city have some ordinances in place on garbage and debris, along with vehicles? The vehicle shown is missing a front plate which is a state law.
I believe city ordinance prohibits a vehicle without proper and current registration (license plates) and/or not operable is only allowed to sit for 72 hours
Does this mean there's actually no romance in junkyard dogs or going to the landfill to shoot rats? Is there no one on the front porch with a banjo? Where's mythology when you need it?
Banjo--
There's just plain no one home.
"There's just plain no one home..."
Sounds like a country song or book title. If I ever write a book of poetry, I'm going to name it "Fill Dirt Needed," or maybe this.
I see that you made another inaccurate statement. You said the two commentators using the posters using the name "The Wiz" both got tired and moved on when the truth is that you have refused to post my comments. Not surprised about that though.
BTW, I don't really think your a racist but I purposely took your comments out of context and called you that because thats what you do with great regularity and I wanted you to know how it feels......not too good, is it????
You always call people racist when you don't really know what your talking about. Its a shame that you can't understand how people can have differing opinions without being racist. Hope you think about how it felt and be more judicious in your accusations in the future.
Regardless of your claims, I only call people racists who are racists.
Could you go to a City Council meeting and ask them to write up a definitive set of rules for properties in ELO? It would be grandfathered in, of course, but that's better than nothing. Specifically, I'm thinking of high standards for rental properties, to be checked and enforced by a City Inspector. (Yeah, a job gets created with tax money, but it's worth it.) Failure to comply each time the property is rented calls for fines and a lockout of the premises until the problem is fixed. All buildings, including those privately owned, must be kept in reasonable repair, those that fail will be written up and if not compliant within one year will be seized by eminent domain and razed.
The city can enact such laws.
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