Homewood City Council declares three properties in Homewood as public nuisances
The Homewood City Council declared three properties in Homewood as public nuisances at the July 11 meeting.
Scott Cook, code enforcement officer at the Inspections and Permits department, said properties at 701 Grove Street, 55 Bagby Dr, 65 Bagby Drive and 464 Cornelius Drive violated multiple city ordinances including “open storage of certain items.”
Cook said the owner of the property at 701 Grove Street was sent a notice of their violation of the city's ordinance regarding litter and an "unhealthy accumulation" on the premises, but got no response.
Toys and other items littered the front porch, per pictures that were taken by Cook and shown at the meeting.
He said there was no communication between himself and the owner and no changes were made after the notice was sent, leading him to recommend the property be declared a public nuisance.
The properties at 55 Bagby Drive and 65 Bagby Drive, which are in violation of the city's "excessive growth" ordinance, have been owned by 5565 Bagby and Associates, LLC based in New York for around 20 years but have done no development on that property, Cook said.
“They have done this for 20-25 years,” Cook said. “They have not touched this property or done anything to improve that building. It’s just awful that that’s happened here.”
In other business, the council:
- Carried over a request for a public hearing to discuss the vacation of right-of-way of 16th Street adjacent to 2901 Central Avenue
- Rezoned 2738 18th Street from C-4 (Central Business District) to C-4(a) (Retail Shopping District)
- Carried over a public hearing for the proposed annexation for 314 Happy Lane to Sept. 12
- Carried over a public hearing for the proposed amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance to include the fence ordinance to Aug. 8
- Carried over a public hearing for the proposed condemnation of the dwelling structure at 2900 16th Place South to July 25
- Carried over a public hearing for the proposed condemnation of the dwelling structure at 137 West Glenwood Drive to July 25
- Approved a request to amend the current year's budget for fuel costs
- Approved a request for permission to submit a grant application for the Homewood Historic Preservation Commission
- Approved a request to authorize the mayor to sign a three-year contract with AT&T for City Hall analog lines
- Approved a request for permission to work within the right-of-way on Reese Street, 16th Street, and alleys surrounding 1707 Reese Street