Yeadon council orders emergency demolition of 725 Fern Street, votes to seek reimbursement

At its meeting, the Borough of Yeadon Council voted unanimously to direct staff to commence an emergency demolition of 725 Fern Street and authorized the solicitorto seek reimbursement of demolition costs through the sheriff's sale process.

The council moved after the borough solicitor reported that, in the solicitor's officeprofessional opinion, 725 Fern is "in imminent danger of collapse and is affecting the public safety," and that the bank that holds the mortgage had not acted quickly enough to address the hazard.

The vote followed public comments about other demolition work in the borough. Resident Clara Johnson asked for updates on two properties, including one on Longacre where demolition was already under way and another near West Cobbs Creek Parkway that has led to closure of a street and a nearby park. The borough reported that demolition on the Longacre property had begun this week and that exterminators had been able to treat the first floor but not the second floor because conditions inside were unsafe. Officials said the extermination-to-demolition interval for that property was about seven days and that there is no local code-mandated 15-day waiting period for the work described.

Council and staff said they had previously applied for a county grant to fund Longacre demolition and were told to address Longacre before the Fern property. After the solicitor described Fern as an immediate hazard, council amended the agenda and approved motions to (1) begin emergency demolition of 725 Fern and (2) direct the solicitor's office to pursue recouping any borough expenditures through the sheriff's sale process. The motions passed on unanimous roll-call votes (President Truhart: yes; Vice President Roald Cloud: yes; Councilor Beatty: yes; Councilor Trent: yes; Councilor Peetz: yes).

Council members and staff described the expected process: the borough's engineer will assess the site, staff will solicit local contractors (using emergency procurement procedures) to perform the demolition, and the solicitor's office will prepare paperwork to create a lien and pursue recovery through sheriff sale if necessary. Officials said the borough will also re-engage the county on available demolition grant funding.

Officials emphasized that borough action was prompted by public-safety risk and by slow action from the property owner and mortgage holder. The solicitor told council it is common in emergency cases to move forward without the usual 24-hour agenda notice because of the public-safety exception.

The council also agreed during the meeting to have public works follow up after demolition to clear overgrown trees and foliage on adjacent lots once they have been cleared, and to coordinate signage and street closures while work proceeds.

Councilors said they prefer the property owner carry the cost but will act to protect public safety and then seek reimbursement. The council did not set a firm start date for demolition in the meeting transcript; staff said they would begin outreach to county grant staff and contractors the next morning and "get this ball rolling."