One voice helps sway aldermen

One man's conviction has helped protect property rights in Benton.

Benton City Council's goal should be ensuring safe, decent housing in the city, but the council's actions could lead to a bunch of empty lots, Alderman Doug Stracener warned aldermen recently.

Facing snide remarks and sarcasm, Stracener stood firm for the wording of condemnation orders issued by the council.

Orders clearly state the owner has "30 days to abate the problem," yet the city's practice generally has been to not issue building permits once condemnation has been ordered. Repairs cannot legally be done without a permit.

Stracener is correct in saying if no permit will be ordered, the city might as well order the building to be demolished the next day.

"Abate" clearly means resolving the problem, which could mean either demolishing the house, or bringing it up to code.

City attorney Brett Houston later released an opinion affirming the city's responsibility to issue permits within the 30-day condemnation period.

The council is unified in its position that unrepairable buildings should be removed, but Stracener has repeatedly warned aldermen that constitutional protections of due process must be followed. Otherwise, yet another costly lawsuit may be filed against the city with the likelihood of the city losing. We don't need that.

Aldermen have expressed fear in recent months that house owners could spend a large amount toward repairing a house, yet fall short of completing the work. Major repairs are expensive, and finding workers isn't always easy (it may be deer season, or a contractor may be booked solid).

To the code enforcement officers' credit, if substantial progress has been made toward repairing houses (using permits obtained prior to condemnation), the owners have been allowed more time for completing repairs. Cosmetic repairs don't meet the "substantial progress" standard.

However, at least one alderman has fervently argued that repairs must be completed within the 30-day period. Charles Cunningham has said in more than one meeting that if the repairs are 95 percent done, the house must still be demolished, because "the problem didn't happen overnight."

While Cunningham is absolutely correct that deterioration has likely been happening for years, Benton shares partial blame for not taking action to prevent the years-long decline.

Benton will soon require certification of occupancy for rental property, which would entail an inspection certifying the house is safe for tenants. But had the action been taken years ago, the city now could have more affordable housing, and fewer empty lots.