Clyde council keeps 227 South Main condemned but permits repairs under 90‑day conditions

Clyde City Council on April 15, 2025 voted 3‑2 to leave a condemnation order in place for 227 South Main but to allow the property owner to enter and make repairs under a set of modifications and a 90‑day timetable that begins April 16.

The vote follows an appeal by Asbury Investment Group LLC after the city manager signed a condemnation order on March 31, 2025. The property was heavily damaged in a wind event on June 6, 2023, and has been boarded and secured since then, city officials said.

City solicitor Zach Salvi told council that under the code the council “shall affirm, disaffirm, modify, or dismiss the city manager's order by a majority vote of the members present,” and that only three of the five council members present are required to take action. Salvi recommended procedures and answered legal questions during the hearing.

Dan Asbury, speaking for Asbury Investment Group LLC, said the damage from the fallen tree could be repaired and that he and his son, Mason Asbury, had engaged contractors and obtained an insurance policy specifically for the property. “We have structure engineer reports … it does not say anywhere in the structure engineer report that the house is unfixable,” Dan Asbury said, adding that he expected a contractor to be on site the following morning and that he and his son had already paid back taxes and invested money and materials into the property.

Neighbors and council members questioned the pace and scope of repairs. Robert Anderson, a next‑door neighbor at 219 South Main Street, said he wants the house repaired but expressed doubt that the owner’s $30,000–$40,000 repair estimate would be adequate. “I am a little concerned about the 30 to $40,000 to repair the house. I think that's extremely low,” Anderson said.

Council members examined competing engineering opinions presented during the hearing. Council members noted a city insurance adjuster and a separate certified engineer had recommended extensive second‑floor demolition and reconstruction, while the Asburys presented a repair plan and a contractor commitment. Council members pressed for specifics on insurance, contractor credentials, timing and costs.

After two failed motions (a motion to overturn the condemnation and a motion to affirm it), council adopted a modification motion that allows the Asburys to perform work while the property remains condemned. The modification requires that within 90 days — with day one identified as April 16 — the Asburys obtain approval from a majority of the five officials listed in the relevant code section (city manager, safety service director, zoning inspector, police chief, and fire chief) for lifting the condemnation. The council specified that no tenants or occupants may live in the structure while it remains condemned and under repair.

Councilman Greg McMaster moved the modification; Vice Mayor Scott Black seconded. The final roll call was Black Aye, McMaster Aye, Meek Aye, Mayor McAuley Nay, and Councilman Chris Shea Nay; the motion passed.

The council also discussed how the 90‑day process would be implemented, including the use of inspections and written agreements outlining required milestones. Salvi suggested the council could condition lifting the condemnation on a majority finding by the same panel of five officials that originally authorized condemnation.

The hearing record shows the condemnation was served March 31, 2025; the damage dates to a June 6, 2023 wind event. Owner statements included that an insurance policy was secured for the property for a premium of about $6,000, that the Asburys estimate the roof and structural repairs would cost roughly $20,000 for the trusses and materials and $30,000–$40,000 total including other materials and some labor, and that some materials (OSB, drywall, flooring) were already on site. The council set the procedural pathway for inspections and a timeline rather than immediately lifting or enforcing full demolition.

The council hearing ended with the modification motion approved and work permitted to begin the next morning under the conditions the council adopted. If the five‑official panel does not approve lifting the condemnation within 90 days, the city manager and staff indicated the property would remain condemned and the city could take further action.

Votes at a glance: overturn condemnation — motion failed; affirm condemnation — motion failed; modification (allow repairs under condemnation with 90‑day requirement and no occupancy) — passed 3‑2.