Blight beat: Ypsilanti Township prepares legal action against 'house of sewage'
This view shows the front of the house at 2143 Merrill Ave.
Photo courtesy of Ypsilanti Township
Ypsilanti Township could soon take legal action against the owner of an abandoned home that has a basement flooded with several feet of water and raw sewage.
The home was only abandoned recently, but officials have already received complaints about the “terrible odor” it’s emitting.
At their meeting Monday night, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved taking legal action against the owner of the home at 2143 Merrill Avenue if he doesn’t quickly address the issues.
The basement area of the home, flooded with sewage.
Ypsilanti Township photo
Aside from 2 feet of water and raw sewage in the basement, the home is infested with mold, and debris and garbage litters the yard.
Mike Radzik, director of the township’s office of community standards, said renters had been living in the house until several weeks before a neighbor reported the issues.
The neighbor told Radzik he could smell the abandoned home from his house and the neighbor feared the sewage might be contributing to his wife’s health problems. Upon inspecting the property, building officials immediately condemned the home.
Officials also found the house completely stripped.
“You’ve heard the expression ‘They took everything but the kitchen sink’, well in this case they did take the kitchen sink,” Building Director Ron Fulton told the board.
Township Attorney Doug Winters said the home likely would cost more to renovate than it would to demolish, but he said officials have yet to hear from the owner.
Winters said he appreciates that township residents are alerting officials to blighted, abandoned homes in increasing numbers.
“There’s no question that people are extremely concerned and vigilant as to how the housing implosion has impacted their neighborhood,” he said. “That issue continues to take center stage around this township as we try stabilize our housing values … and the township has a responsibility to maintain those housing values.”
Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. For more Ypsilanti stories, visit our Ypsilanti page. To reach the news desk e-mail news@annarbor.com.
Comments
Red Floyd
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 12:53 p.m.
I can personally attest that Ypsi Township is doing all they can to aggressively put an end to blight and other "standard of living" issues, such as loud music, heavy traffic to particular houses, unkempt lawns, abandoned cars, etc. We had an issue in my neighborhood, and within ONE WEEK, a problem that has slowly been building for almost two years was completely put to an end! The problem is that many residents of the community don't or won't say anything until things have grown out of control. Most people don't want to be bothered with participating in neighborhood watch programs, or even coordinating with those that do. The township is able to do a lot, but they NEED information and coordination from residents to really be effective! If there is a problem in your neighborhood, you CAN make a difference, AND remain anonymous! If anyone reading this has a particular concern, reply to this comment, and I'll reply with the contact info of the person that can best help with your neighborhood issue.
tdw
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 6:38 p.m.
@ffej440...wow..making some assumptions about Red and the problems he had with his neighbor aren't you ?
ffej440
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 5:22 p.m.
Red you sound like the neighbor I hate. So I had four teenage children with lots of friends, "heavy traffic" is a matter of opinion- besides what law is being broken? I bought a car- before I could get home from the Sec State, someone complained about no plate. Yes you can be an anonymous complaining jerk- or you could try talking to your neighbor like a REAL neighbor. I live outside of Ypsi, but the neighbor had moved next door from Ypsi to live in a small town. Maybe that is the problem in Ypsi twnshp, try a nice "Hello" and "Do you need to borrow my lawn mower ?" You may find you can help rather than make your neighbors problems worse.
Life in Ypsi
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 4:23 p.m.
The issue with contacting the township is that once it's done, the neighbor automatically assumes it's you in my experience. Then the problems really start to escalate.
jns131
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 2:31 p.m.
I concur with this post. Report it and it will be taken care of. I don't think anyone knew what was really going on inside that house until it was inspected. Time to tear out another house.
pseudo
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 10:51 a.m.
Is anyone else wondering how and why Ypsi Township allowed all these houses/buildings to get so bad? I mean, jeeze, this is a nice PR campaign but how 'bout preventing this stuff?
djacks24
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 9 p.m.
Do you even live in Ypsi township? Do you even know what planet you're on?
YpsiLivin
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
Short of inspecting every residential property in the township, I'm not sure how the township is supposed to "know" about the condition of a home. It appears as though the township officials acted immediately when the matter was brought to their attention. Without violating the 4th Amendment, how do you think the township could go about "preventing" this kind of thing?
aanative
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 12:48 p.m.
No, I bet no one else is wondering that. The HOMEOWNER is responsible for the property.
Robo
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 11:09 a.m.
"nice PR campaign"?
Jordan Miller
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 11:07 a.m.
How does the Township prevent someone from letting sewage back up in his basement, even after he had been warned by the township against improper basement work. They had already cited him, and it sounds like they acted quickly when the problem came to light. Not much else they could do.
Larry Kestenbaum
Tue, Apr 24, 2012 : 11:05 a.m.
How would it be possible for the township to cost-effectively monitor thousands of properties to detect this kind of situation before the neighbors do? The article suggests that severe issues with this property developed only with its "recent" abandonment.