Resident presses council for timeline after 5 years with burned house at 235 Lockwood
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Summary
A neighbor asked the council why a burned, vacant house at 235 Lockwood remains partly unrepaired years after a fire and why demolition escrow funds have not been used; the speaker gave a timeline she says shows the city extended repair deadlines and the property remains unchanged.
A resident urged the council to clarify the status and timeline for a fire‑damaged house at 235 Lockwood, saying insurance, title changes and repeated repair extensions have left the property unrepaired and the demolition escrow untouched.
Debbie Melkonian told council the home was declared a total loss five years earlier and that the insurer paid down the mortgage and remitted $12,000 to the city for demolition if the home was not rebuilt. "The money is still in The city's escrow account," Melkonian said, and she asked whether a timeline is being followed.
Melkonian described a chain‑of‑title matter in which the owner conveyed the property to her son; she said the city gave the owner additional weeks to pull permits and repair the property after a planned demolition, and she described a subsequent permit pulled for limited electrical work and a partial, short effort that stopped. She provided the council with a photograph and said the property had not changed since January.
Council members acknowledged previous correspondence on the file and asked staff to provide an update. City staff described the typical interactions with insurers, code enforcement and demolition escrow: the city can withhold escrowed demolition funds but must follow notice and process, and private‑property rights and pending investigations sometimes delay action. The manager and inspectors said they would follow up with specific case details.
What council recorded: Melkonian requested a timeline and a staff update; council asked staff to follow up with the resident and to report back on enforcement options and the escrow balance.
