Evansville hearing officer affirms multiple vacate/raise orders, sets continuances and penalties

Hearing Officer Ryan Schultz presiding over the Evansville City building-commission hearings on Sept. 25, 2025, affirmed multiple emergency vacate and raise orders for properties the department described as structurally impaired or hazardous, set deadlines for owners to supply repair plans, granted several continuances and imposed at least one civil penalty and a housing-court referral.

The hearing produced immediate enforcement for properties the department said posed a public-safety or public-health risk. Schultz said he would “affirm the raise order” for properties where inspectors documented collapsed roof members, severe fire damage or structural movement, and he repeatedly ordered interior or on-site inspections where access had not previously been available.

Why it matters: the decisions clear the way for the city to remove or require major repairs on blighted structures near schools, parks and other occupied buildings, and they create deadlines when owners have an opportunity to present plans to avoid demolition.

Most significant outcomes

- Raise orders affirmed: Schultz affirmed raise (demolition/razing) orders where inspectors documented severe structural damage or repeated vacancy and vagrant activity. Properties noted with affirmed raise or vacate-and-raise findings included 3304 Forest Ave.; 320 Cass Ave.; 718 Bayard Park Dr.; 1412/1414 South Lynnwood Ave. (reported as 1612–1614 South Lynnwood Ave.); 802 N. Fourth Ave.; and others where inspectors testified to collapsed roofs, heavy charring from fires, missing meters and open holes allowing weather intrusion. Inspectors cited hazards such as collapsed garage roofs, bowed foundations and melted electrical components. For example, Inspector Allen testified that the house at 3304 Forest Ave. showed “significant charring” and that the fire department estimated…