Board seeks lawsuit against property

Sep. 29—Members of the Cumberland County Health and Safety Standards Board found a property owner had not done enough to clean up their lot in the middle of a residential neighborhood and authorized a lawsuit to force removal of debris and garbage.

Board member Joe Koester said he drove by the property on Oakley Dr. prior to coming to the meeting Sept. 21.

He said he observed trash on the front porch and the front yard, a truck loaded with brush backed into a wooded area, and the garage door was unhooked at the top and leaning in.

"From my observation and the pictures, clearly they have not effected a satisfactory clean up. And I have every reason to believe they will not make a satisfactory clean up until we get their attention," Koester said.

Nancy Hyder, board member, agreed.

"I bet I've been out there a half-a-dozen times since Aug. 31," she said. "I was there when a dumpster was there, but I never saw anybody working or anything sticking out of a dumpster. The trash in the front, they covered it up with a blue tarp. It's been there for a while. A refrigerator on the front porch, it's not chained or had the doors removed."

County Attorney Philip Burnett said those items did support finding the property owner in violation and filing a lawsuit in Cumberland County General Sessions Court. The court can impost penalties of $50 a day for each violation until the property is cleaned up.

"There's still some things there that are dangerous," Burnett said.

The property owner was notified of a complaint in filed by neighbors in August. The committee gave the property owner 10 days to clean up the property and contact members of the committee about their efforts.

The committee found the property in violation on Aug. 29 and the notice of violation was served Sept. 7. That gave the property owner another 10 days to address the situation.

Neighbors complained of trash in the yard and other items that they believed caused a health concern to other property owners.

It's the second time the board has addressed neighbor complaints against the property.

A January complaint was closed in March after the residents cleaned up the property. The neighbors returned to the board in July seeking further action, saying conditions had worsened at the home.

Burnett said he needed evidence of a continuing health or safety issue at the property until the matter could be heard in court.

Neighbors provided photos of the back yard of the property, but Burnett asked if the yard was fenced.

"Does that not meet the criteria?" Koester said.

Burnett said, "It depends. If I've got a mess back there, but I've got it properly fenced in, nobody can see it or get to it, how does that hurt anything? It has to be a safety hazard."

However, if the accumulated trash is attracting rodents or causing foul smells, that can be considered a health hazard.

"If there's trash, then I can see that attracting vermin. There is a line. I'm going to have to stand there in front of the judge and make her understand why this is a safety hazard for this community," Burnett said.

Trash, old refrigerators or appliances are clear safety concerns, he said.

Because the residence is occupied, Burnett said the county cannot go in and clean up the property as it has at abandoned properties in the past. A lawsuit finding the property in violation is the only avenue the county has to force owners to address health and safety issues on their property. Fines are added to the tax assessment.

The daily fines could be assessed from 10 days after the property owner was served Sept. 17.

Burnett said it could take a couple of weeks to get a lawsuit filed. He asked neighbors and the committee to provide ongoing evidence that the property is in violation.

The panel also voted to send a notice of complaint for a property on Turner Greenhouse Rd.

Hyder said neighbors had contacted her last winter regarding issues at the property.

"It was bad then," Hyder said. "Since then, the inside of the house has burned. I was out there yesterday and it's really, really bad. The pictures don't do it justice."

But neighbors had trouble finding a third neighbor within the 150-yard distance to sign a complaint.

A search of property records found additional property owners and they were able to file a complaint with the board.

Hyder said there are people staying on the property in storage sheds and tents. There's no water service to the property, leading neighbors to worry about sanitary conditions.

Neighbors have built a fence to help keep garbage from blowing into their yard, Hyder said.

"When the wind blows, all that stuff's in their yard and out in their field," she said.

Neighbors said the owner has allowed people to stay on the property, preventing law enforcement from removing people for trespassing.

Hyder said, "It's the responsibility of the owner of the property. If she's let this go on ..."

The building was damaged by fire Sept. 1. The owner has not lived at the site since that time. Burnett said the board could find the property in violation as a dilapidated structure.

Board member Tom Isham said the board needed to seek an extension of the boundary for complaints. Currently, neighboring property owners must be within 150 yards of the property in question. Previously, the board had sought an increase to 250 yards, but the matter was not advanced through the Cumberland County Commission.

"If we could increase the distance to 250 yards, that would really help," Isham said.

Koester agreed. "We've seen several where just a little more distance would have helped."

The board asked Burnett to prepare a resolution increasing the distance to 250 yards to be presented to the county commission.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.