Columbus Board of Public Works members have denied an appeal brought by the owner of a vacant gas station along McClure Road who sought to reverse the city’s order to condemn and demolish the building.
The board gave property owner Scott Brown a total of 60 days to demolish the vacant gas station at 1631 McClure Road at his own expense. Brown, however, could still attempt to get the board’s approval for a specific plan for how he would clean up and use the property, city officials said. If no action is taken by Brown in 60 days, the city will likely file a complaint in court seeking to enforce the demolition and condemnation order.
“As it stands right now, he’s got to have it torn down within 60 days,” said Fred Barnett, who leads Columbus code enforcement.
Brown appeared on Wednesday before the board with his attorney, Dan Patterson, to appeal the board’s April 2 decision to approve the city’s order to condemn and demolish the property, which city officials said was a public nuisance and had structural damage, including holes in the building’s roof line and canopy.
Barnett said the property falls under a section of Indiana Code at 36-7-9-4.5, allowing local governments to take “vigorous and disciplined action” to “ensure the proper maintenance and repair of vacant structures,” according to the Indiana Code. Local governments can enforce the code in many ways, including vacating, sealing off or demolishing an unsafe building.
Brown and Patterson argued that the property is not a public nuisance or unsafe and that, to their knowledge, there are no structural defects or problems with rodents on the property, and the property is “lawfully” being used. Patterson said Brown uses the vacant gas station to store building materials.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
