Blight Beat: Illegal junkyard, dangerous building top Ypsilanti Township's hit list
Ypsilanti Township officials are seeking court help in cleaning up an illegal junkyard and a separate party store with a high number of serious code violations they say constitutes an unsafe building.
If the problems aren't corrected, the township will ask a Washtenaw County Circuit judge to declare the properties a public nuisance and order them to be brought up to code.
Ypsilanti Township Building Director Ron Fulton said around 25 vehicles are parked outside Dave’s Transmission at 1990 McCartney Ave., just north of Grove Road.
Officials want an illegal junkyard outside Dave's Transmission cleared.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
Most of the cars appear inoperable and some are engulfed in vegetation. Car parts, gas cans and other equipment also litter the yard.
Dave’s Transmission occupies the lower part of the two-story building, and Fulton said the owner, Manchester resident Ron Oliver, claimed the cars belonged to the upstairs tenant who is renting an apartment.
Township officials first warned the tenant to clean up the junkyard around a year ago, and the tenant said that hard financial times prevented him from doing so.
“We think a year is enough time so we’re moving forward in circuit court,” Fulton said. “He seems to bring the vehicles in and let them sit there; never work on them or move them; and we’ve attempted enforcement to no avail.”
While concentrating on cleaning up various blighted properties along the East Michigan Avenue corridor, officials discovered numerous code violations at the Early Times Liquor Store at 2433 E. Michigan Ave.
The store is near the former Velvet Touch adult bookstore, which was recently demolished, and a partially abandoned trailer park that is closing.
Among the main concerns building officials found were dangerous wiring and electrical work throughout the store, Fulton said. The building also has mold, a sagging ceiling, a sagging roof with vegetation growing out of it, broken windows, boarded windows, rotting wood support beams and rotting drywall.
The entire second story has been closed off because half the staircase fell apart and the owners used a step stool to get to the upper part of the staircase that hadn’t yet fallen apart.
Fulton said the store’s owner has agreed to work to bring the store up to code and he is hopeful the township won’t have to pursue further litigation over the property.
“It was apparent just by looking at the building that there were issues going on there,” Fulton said.
Comments
bbdron
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.
thanks for the support of readers, also there is a lot of false info here i believe that tom should investigate this issue to get both sides of a story instead of taking the word of our big brother commies at the township hall
obviouscomment
Sat, Jun 16, 2012 : 12:56 a.m.
I agree that Dave's Transmission should clean up the abandoned cars. But I will say that I've been a very pleased customer of theirs. They do good work and don't charge the ridiculous labor charges that other garages charge. He once fixed a very simple transmission issue on my car that just couldn't be done without the proper tools and I know if I had taken it to any other garage I would've paid $100-200 for the 10 minute fix that he charged me $20 for. I was very thankful. I hope he can work things out and not go out of business. Also, I've personally been witness to the fact that, while there are a lot of abandoned cars, not all the cars there are abandoned. They get a lot of local business and the lot is typically full of cars waiting on work to be done. And they seem to have a policy of "we'll hold it until you can pay." I can see how it can cause issues but he is really trying to run a good business.
bbdron
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:07 p.m.
thank you for the support, one thing to cleare up is that these are not the vehicles of daves trans
kalamityjane
Fri, Jun 15, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.
This is just pathetic. A year ago he was told to remove the vehicles and you're just moving forward with Circuit Court? It sure makes a lot of sense to me that an apartment renter, not the auto shop owns the abandoned cars on the lot... Ridiculous! As well, how is a store (much less any business) that sells food and beverages still open with violations such as mold, vegetation growing out of its sagging roof, etc still open for operations? I'm disgusted. People are always upset when Ypsi is looked upon negatively but this is a prime example why it is!
bbdron
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:05 p.m.
sorry you feel this way but as i told tom, get both sides of a story or issue before taking the governments side and do as they do by bad mouthing people
kalamityjane
Fri, Jun 15, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.
I think not, these are public entities, they should be up to code. That's not an irrational request that 25 cars that have been sitting so long that they are "engulfed in vegetation", along with car repair paraphernalia strewn about be cleaned up. Nor that a business serving the public, nonetheless serving them consumables doesn't have mold and rotted wood structure! To state otherwise is ridiculous and pacifying indecency.
lumberg48108
Fri, Jun 15, 2012 : 3:08 p.m.
I think you are taking the "glass is 1/2 empty" approach the township has made blight a major priority and have been moving forward on this issue for a few years -- it takes time - personal property rights are (and should be) hard to eradicate the township is making headway and its a long battle - but by your take they are dammed if they do and dammed if they dont
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Jun 15, 2012 : 10:59 a.m.
why is gault village still standing? it is way past the dates in the blight aticles about it.
bbdron
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 1:10 p.m.
i agree there are a lot worse issue than this, also these are cars not connected to the trans shop for whom the blame is being forced upon by the big brother government that does not understand renters rights and landlord laws