A Grand Street resident is hoping city officials can do something to clear out long-vacant housing.
Pat Pieroni says an unoccupied house on the corner of Grand and Hawley streets was purchased at auction and has been used as a warehouse for building supplies and other items for the past 20 years. Pieroni said the owner comes and goes, but no one has lived in the home and it has never been improved.
Addressing the Common Council about city requirements for auctioned houses this week, Pieroni asked, “Isn’t there something that states the house has to be habitable? I feel that it’s totally ignored. The guy who uses it brings a window in and takes two pieces of board out. To me, it doesn’t make any sense. I was told years ago, there’s a time frame that if they’re purchased they’re supposed to be put back on the tax rolls.
Pieroni asked whether using a house only for storage was actually a business purpose which violated code.
David E. Blackley, the city’s corporate counsel, said that when homes are purchased at auction, once the owner gets through the title process “the city steps back.” Blackley said long-term issues would be a matter for the Building Inspection Department.
When contacted, Anthony J. Serianni, the city’s deputy corporate counsel said, “There’s no prohibition on having a vacant house, as long as your taxes and water bills are paid. It’s not that the building code prohibits a building from being vacant.”
“If there are vacant properties, we can’t force people to have them either occupied, or make them habitable from an interior perspective,” added Jason Dool, chief building inspector. “What we can do if there’s any exterior violation — the roof, siding, peeling paint, grass — is to send our typical violation letter.”
Dool said the normal course of action is to allow a response period of 48 hours and up to four weeks, depending on the violation.
“If we don’t hear back from somebody, we file an information with the court,” Dool said. “That’s an instrument that allows us to make allegations of violations. What happens sometimes is that people don’t show up for court and the judge issues a warrant.”
Nearly 10 years ago, Lockport had “a very bad zombie property problem,” Dool said. “Our vacancy problem is very minimal compared to what it used to be. There are only a few homes that we’re aware of that are in foreclosure right now.”
Most currently abandoned properties — which Dool estimates to be less than 20 total — are own by limited liability corporations which makes locating an owner difficult, he said.
Referring to a property behind city hall, Dool said, “The one here, on the back side of Niagara Street — the porch is ready to fall down. We have a warrant out. We just can’t locate her.”
Dool said the Building Inspection Department is keeping up with the cases that need to go to court.
During the meeting Wednesday, Margaret Lupo, 5th Ward alderman, said that she thought the Village of Medina had implemented a vacant house registry that was useful in addressing the problem. Lupo said she would find out more about the practice.
In a separate interview, Mark Devine, 3rd Ward alderman, said he lives two blocks from the house Pieroni spoke about.
“It’s an eyesore in the city,” he said.
Devine described the areas near Route 31 and north as neglected by the city.
“But it’s hard for Jason’s crew,” he said. “They don’t have many people to do enforcement.”