Columbus Board of Works members lifted a public nuisance status designation for a house on Washington Street and discussed plans to condemn two other properties.
The board on Tuesday lifted the public nuisance status at 2123 Washington St. which had been in place since May due to several complaints about the property from neighbors. The complaints included allegations about loud vehicles, unsightly garbage on the property, among others.
The city declared the property a public nuisance in order to move along the process of getting the tenants evicted. Code enforcement officer Fred Barnett reported that the while the tenants were supposed to be off the property by noon this past Friday, they stayed through part of Monday morning. As they have now vacated the property, there is no reason to continue enforcing the public nuisance status, he said.
“We affirm the original order,” Barnett said, “but rescind the portion of the decision that directs the office of the city attorney to enforce the decision, for the reason that the nuisance has been abated.”
Barnett said there is still work to be done on the property. A few items were left outside, such as a washing machine, that need to be hauled away. The landlord’s lawyer, Dennis Stark, said that his client, Tony Narsinghani, is “in the process of getting the property cleaned up.”
Barnett added that he would contact Narsinghan about arranging a time to inspect the inside of the house. He also recommended that the landlord reach out to the property’s neighboring residents.
“It would be good … to at least try and visit the neighbors and talk to them, you know, about what happened and how we got it resolved,” he said.
Barnett then told board members he is in the process of condemning two properties in Columbus — 91 Reo St. and 3127 16th St.
Seven people were arrested Friday at 91 Reo St. as the result of an ongoing narcotics investigation. Columbus Police Department spokesman Lt. Matt Harris said that during a search of the residence, officers located scheduled prescription narcotics, methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and counterfeit U.S. currency.
“I am working with the property owner to condemn (the property),” said Barnett. “Not only is it a public nuisance, but also it’s unfit for human habitation because of the cleanliness aspect of it.”
Likewise, the property on 3127 16th St. has seen recent issues with certain living conditions, as well as squatters on the premises.
“The owner has to evict them,” Barnett said. “But the problem is he’s got no water, no electric, no gas, no nothing, and so people are living in squalor. So what happens is, I’m going to condemn that, working with the property owner, as a public nuisance.”
He said that the case will have to be settled in eviction court, but hopefully, once the property is officially condemned as a public nuisance, that declaration will help the owner’s case.
Neither residence has been officially condemned or declared a public nuisance by the board.
One board member asked why the police department couldn’t simply remove the squatters, since they’re not actual tenants.
“That’s something that the police department hasn’t been doing because of the COVID (pandemic),” Barnett replied. “All of this happened during this COVID pandemic … and what’s happening is that the courts are reluctant to kick people out.”
Attorney Alan Whitted also pointed out that involving the police in such cases isn’t always the best option.
“There’s almost always situations where there’s a dispute about whether or not they are, in fact, squatters or whether they’re thereby month-to-month tenancy,” Whitted said. “I generally would prefer the landlords to go and get an eviction notice than put the city in a liability situation where we’re forcing someone out of their home without a traditional order.”
