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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 1971)
Toe Vaccactf by JOHN DVORAK ' 1 ests on a shaded, weedy corner lot just a few blocks east of the Twin Towers dormitories and the sorority houses on University Terrace. Students who walk by it on their way to school and the motorists who dH'- past on R Street have watched the tiny bungalow deteriorate. It can no longer be termed a house. It is a wood shell, beaten down with age, grayed and warped from the weather and crumbling because of the efforts of vandals and transients. The vacant dwelling, far worse off than most of Lincoln's other empty houses, is a cause of concern for city housing officials, neighbors and Lincoln citizens who want to make their city beautiful. "We've been after that house for some time," commented Charles G. Seale, chief of building inspections. "The person who owns it is apparently not going to do much about it." But he admitted it may be some time before the house can be torn down by the city. Several formal notices must be sent to the property owner before wrecking crews can move in. And time must be given for owners to appeal the city's action. Spate added that his building in spections department, as always at the start of a summer, is swamped with a backlog of work. "All in all Lincoln is not in too bad a shape with vacant houses on a p: Mportional basis," Seale said. Larger and older cities, like Omaha or St. Louis or Kansas City, have a far greater problem with substandard dwellings that owners will not restore or remove. "It seems there are a few more now than in past years," commented Robert Sawdon, chief of detectives for the Lincoln Police Department. Vandalism is, of course, the biggest problem, although the police are usually able to apprehend the younger violators. Transients often take up residence in empty houses, and runaway young people also have been L J .m tnM . II Ltd aul I f. 42 rmStCimC' pfcv n ,-5,.. 7,..,- ' ;. vs4 i , cA ?"':-if?I-iVAj- 75, - ,,Vi -u; V Efoi5e: it's reoily s bEghf known to find a mattress and take up residence in an unoccupied dwelling, Sawdon said. "We try to check up on them whenver possible," he explained, "but if we walked through every one each day we'd have no time for anything else." Sawdon fears above all a problem that has not yet occurred in a vacant dwelling. Perhaps a drunk or a child will set fire to the building and die in the blaze, he said. "We don't have nearly the problem that Omaha has," Sawdon emphasized. "Even though the number of empty houses is increasing they're not causing us a great deal of worry." For Dennis Hetherington and his wife, the empty house just south of their home at 125 So. 31st St. is causing worry. "I've complained to the mayor and I'm going to complain again," said Hetherington of the empty building that has gradually dilapidated since last year. It's unsightly and it definitely spoils the appearance of the entire neighborhood. . . it's really a blight," he said. The house, which still has furniture in it, is rotting' on the corners, the back porch is collapsing and the yard is overgrown with weeds. Worse yet, a garage adjacent to the house is leaning about 30 degrees and threatens to fall any day. "I've heard that kids have broken into it," Hetherington said. "And I've also heard that hippies have been in and out of there. I've sen squirrels and birds go in there." Lincoln's vacant houses fall into two categories. Some are vacant because the city has declared them . uninhabitable at least temporarily because of some plumbing, electrical, structural or health difficulty. Others are vacant because of an uncorrectable structural defect or because they are so dilapidated repair would be impossible. "Sometimes the complaints come directly to our office or sometimes we find out about substandard houses through other offices," said Carl Kopines, city housing administrator. "No matter what the source, we always investigate complaints and generally we find they are valid." Kopines and his two assistants, if they find the dwelling unsafe or unfit, request the property owner to put the dwelling "back in condition." Usually, owners are given 90 days, although housing officials often are more lenient when the problem warrants it. "We don't have the power to a actually make the owner fix up his property," Kopines emphasized. The city asks for "voluntary compliance," which generally works well, he added, tn fact, the vast majority of owners are quick to renovate their property. "Sometimes it can only be a leaky toilet, or a minor defect in the wiring or the roof," Kopines said. "Sometimes $40 or $50 will correct the difficulty and the tenants are not disturbed." When Kopines loses patience with uncooperative property owners, he orders their dwellings "red- tagged" or "placarded." This means the houses are "unfit for human habitation" and must be vacated as soon as a place for the tenants can be found. Usually it is up to Kopines and City Relocation Officer Gerald Henderson to find another home for the tenants who often are poor and unwilling to search for a new home themselves. Right now 16 properties in "Lincoln are red-tagged. Three are on R Street; two are side by side on North 28th. All but one are west of 33rd Street and north of South Street. So long as the properties are Jiot open to the weather or in a badly dilapidated condition, and the property owners decline' to repair them, they remain red-tagged. This is the tragedy, Kopines pointed out. Some of the properties could be made livable for a relatively small expenditure. But the owners often leave them to waste away until they turn into shells similar to the one at 1940 R. "'Of course we can't do much if the house is a little run down or lacks paint," Seale said. But we're constantly on the lookout for unoccupied houses. Anything that comes to our attention is eventually dealt with in some way. Seale and his assistants often deal with properties referred to them by Kopines's office. Other times, the building inspections office acts on its own. "We ask the person to do something with the property but if he doesn't we give him a formal 30-day notice," Seale said. That notice automatically carries a right to appeal, which often can mean a delay of another month or so. Before the property actually can be razed, another 30-day notice with right to appeal is necessary. Seale estimated that 15 to 20 properties throughout the city are in some stage of this legal process. More are about ready to enter the legal wrangling. Although Kopines and Seale both agree that vacant dwellings are a slowly rising problem, they pointed out that good excuses often exist for the landlords to let the property dilapidate. ""Sometimes there are no repair people available," Kopines said. "One owner told me the plumber couldn't get to his house for two months. Another owner told me the electrician was so busy he quoted an outrageous price just to keep from doing the job." Kopines added that in these days of rising taxes, it -is often more economical for the property owner not to fix his property, to just let it deteriorate and to let the city handle it. "In that case we just tear the house down and assess the cost as a lien against the property," Seale said. "But the owner can never be compelled to pay taxes on his property, on liens against it either." PAGE 12 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1971