Knoxville public officer orders repairs or demolition for multiple dangerous properties

Nicholas Bradshaw, the public officer designated by the mayor, ordered owners of multiple Knoxville properties to repair or demolish unsafe structures after a January 31 hearing where city inspectors presented evidence of code violations.

Bradshaw said he found the structures at 1534, 1542 and 1544 Massachusetts Avenue “out of compliance with the codes of the City of Knoxville, an attractive nuisance and...dangerous and injurious to the health and safety of the occupants or public,” and ordered the owner to repair or demolish those structures immediately. Alan Stonerock, a neighborhood codes enforcement inspector, had recommended immediate repair/demolition for the accessory structures at those lots after inspections found heavy clutter, dilapidation and, in some lots, accessory structures on parcels without primary dwellings.

The order followed testimony from people identifying themselves as family members and others describing probate complications and recent dumping on the lots. One speaker, Ronnie Jenkins of Saugus, Georgia, said he had paid to lease a unit and described ongoing damage and a lack of clear title resolution. Bradshaw encouraged the family representatives to work with the codes team but said the city could proceed if corrective action did not occur.

At the same hearing Bradshaw ordered immediate repair or demolition of the structure at 4917 Kane Road after a December 2024 inspection found compromised structural integrity, including fallen ceiling joists and rotted load-bearing walls. Robert Kitts, who identified 4917 Kane Road as his mailing address and said vandals had damaged interior components, told the hearing he intended to make repairs but had not yet pulled permits or hired a contractor.

Bradshaw issued a 90-day repair-or-demolition order for the fire-damaged house at 2231 Knollcrest Lane after the city confirmed heavy structural damage from a February 2024 fire and removal of utilities. Cole Hodge, an attorney with McFlinchy Stafford representing Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), said THDA is the mortgagee and that insurance proceeds — which he described as “six figures” — are expected to cover repairs once the borrower, the owner, can be contacted. Hodge did not object to a 90-day timeline and said his client wants the house repaired rather than demolished.

For 4914 McIntyre Road, Bradshaw found the house and accessory structures out of compliance and issued a 120-day repair-only order. Owner Angela Merritt, who said she lives at the address, and Jordan Bozeman, who said he was assisting her, reported recent work and said they planned to pull a permit and complete repairs; inspectors noted a September 2024 reinspection and additional site visits.

Bradshaw ordered the owner of 2841 Linden Avenue to repair the property within 30 days. Stonerock presented a long complaint history for that address, citing disconnected water and sewer lines, exposed rear electrical fuse panel without a cover, cracked and unstable porch concrete, repeated dirty-lot complaints and multiple structural and zoning complaints; he said the city had referred available assistance resources to the owner.

The public officer also approved a series of boarding actions and affirmed associated corrective-action charges for addresses the city had boarded earlier in 2024, including 1108 Avenue A; 3230 East Fifth Avenue; 4405 Fulton Drive; 4414 Homewood Road; 4135 Ivy Avenue; 1544 Massachusetts Avenue (boarded August 23, 2024); and 2456 Woodbine Avenue (boarded June 11, 2024).

Bradshaw repeatedly urged property owners and their representatives to contact the city codes office (Alan Stonerock and Ms. Burke were identified as staff contacts during the hearing) to initiate permits or repair plans. He warned that if owners fail to take corrective action within the time frames ordered, properties may be placarded as unfit for human habitation, vacated and closed, and the city may cause repair or demolition with the cost becoming a lien as provided in city code.

The hearing opened at 9:33 a.m. and adjourned at 10:26 a.m.