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Authority affirms demo and trash orders, imposes $5,000 civil penalty for Southway Plaza noncompliance
Summary
After extended noncompliance at Southway Plaza (3837–3845 South Madison), the Muncie Unsafe Building Hearing Authority affirmed demolition and trash orders and imposed a $5,000 civil penalty; tenants and business owners in the plaza expressed frustration at uncertainty about ownership and operations.
MUNCIE, Ind. — The Muncie Unsafe Building Hearing Authority on Sept. 11 affirmed demolition and trash orders for Southway Plaza properties and imposed a $5,000 civil penalty for noncompliance, directing the matter to return to the authority on Oct. 9.
Several business occupants from the plaza appeared at the hearing seeking clarity. Steve Smith, who identified himself as a mattress-store operator with a mailing address in Milton, said he had been a tenant for about 10 years and reported a lack of reliable contact with the property owners and interrupted rent collection. City staff and authority members said the property has been a recurring nuisance and that offers to purchase and rehabilitate the site had failed to resolve ongoing problems.
The authority motioned to affirm demo and trash orders and to impose the $5,000 civil penalty for noncompliance; the motion passed by voice vote. Authority members told tenants to provide contact information to the city and were urged to call the enforcement office for updates. The authority noted that the plaza sits on multiple parcels and that enforcement had targeted the parcel on the unsafe-building docket.
The authority’s action requires owners to comply with the demolition and trash-removal orders and gives the city prosecutorial options if owners do not act. The authority instructed staff to have the owners back on Oct. 9 and to proceed with enforcement steps as appropriate.
