City code enforcement asked the Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety to approve an order to vacate and condemn a house due to unsafe conditions.
Code Enforcement Officer Fred Barnett said he has been working with the 2909 13th St. property since the first of the year with issues regarding garbage, trash and unlicensed inoperable vehicles which he said the property owner did handle.
Barnett said that after the outside of the home was fixed up, his team inspected the inside of the building. He told the board that inside the building were issues such as holes in the roof and electrical issues from open-panels and spigot leaks next to electrical panels.
Due to these issues, he asked that the house be vacated, condemned and that legal action be taken if needed. Barnett also added a building permit requirement for any action taken on fixing the house.
Board member John Pickett asked if there is anything the board or the Columbus City Council could do to prevent houses from getting bad enough to the point of condemnation.
“It would be nice if we could be more proactive, because we have some crap housing stock,” Pickett said.
The board voted unanimously to approve the order to condemn, vacate and take legal action on the 13th Street home.
