SUBJECT:
Title
Request Authorization to Proceed with the Filing of Legal Action for an Abatement of a Nuisance (Remove Unsafe Building/Structure) on Property Owned by the Estates of Christal Norris and Carl Norris
Body
INITIATOR:
DEPARTMENT:
Matthew G. Minter, County Attorney
County Attorney
DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND:
The County Attorney is requesting authorization to proceed with the filing of a complaint to abate a nuisance and remove unsafe buildings/structures on property currently owned by the Estates of Christal Norris and Carl Norris. The property owners died in 2011 and 2017. The owners’ daughter is not living on the property and her whereabouts in the County are unknown. Code Enforcement initiated its case in 2023 and obtained two (2) orders from the Code Enforcement Board, resulting in Code Enforcement cleaning up the junk and debris which existed on the property. During the cleanup, the unsafe structure was discovered. Squatters currently occupy the structure now deemed unsafe and are maintaining the property in a public nuisance condition. Code Enforcement is within its authority to abate the nuisance by removing the unsafe structures; however, due to the buildings being occupied and there being no readily identifiable owner, the County Attorney recommends filing an enjoinment of nuisance action with the 5th Judicial Circuit Court to obtain a Court Order to allow the removal of the unsafe structures on the property.
BUDGET/IMPACT:
None
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
Motion to authorize County Attorney to proceed with legal action for an abatement of a nuisance by removing unsafe structures.
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