The City of Yorktown got serious about cleaning up substandard properties this year, taking dozens of structures through the legal process of notification, inspection, condemnation and demolition.
Now that many of the properties have been cleared, concerns for the human impact to persons unhoused by the process have been raised, as well as how some properties were chosen, while other housing, which appears in worse condition, was not.
“They were squatters,” Mayor Bill Baker says of any displaced inhabitants, noting their lack of legal standing.
One highly visible former inhabitant resided at 216 S. Church Street, which is owned by the person’s out-state-relative. After demolition of the house, the elderly, disabled man now lives in a tent on the property, which Baker said is illegal.
As for how the properties were chosen, Baker said they are going by quadrants “because we don't want to bounce around and miss something because we forgot it or missed it.”
He said it is a combination of city staff and council who do the initial identification of possible properties. They look at occupancy based on its condition. “Is it habitable?” Baker said, describing the criteria for property consideration. “Have the city services been suspended, turned off, not being used for years and years?”
The mayor said that taxes owed on properties are not taken into consideration.
Baker said the owners have months of notice that their property will be inspected. When the inspection company of Bureau Veritas goes for the interior and structural check, a deputy with the DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office accompanies them.
After these reports are complete, a public hearing is scheduled during the monthly city council meeting for comments regarding the properties identified as substandard in accordance with the Yorktown Substandard Building Ordinance, Article 3.05, Code of Ordinances.
Those public hearings started in February with the 216 South Church Street house being the first property approved for demolition. Other properties that month with a public hearing were 427 South Bauer Street, 419 South Bauer Street, 601 N West Street, and 502 N Mehnert Street.
In March, the public hearings for the properties of 117 South Riedel Street, 136 South Riedel Street, 143 South Riedel Street, and Parcel 21105, N Mehnert Street were held.
In April, public hearings for 223 West Sixth Street, 503A North West Street, 746 East Main Street, 625 North West Street, and 223 West Eight Street were held.
Most of the time, property owners were not in attendance, but a few did come to explain their situation and request more time to make improvements, which was granted.
“There's a ton of hoops we’ve got to jump through. It's not an arbitrary process,” Baker said. “Anybody that's complaining about the process doesn't understand the process.”
He said the city risks losing tax dollars when structures are cleared, but the hope is new construction will replace the substandard buildings.
