Council weighs demolition of boarded house at 2199 Emmons; owner given path to inspections

The Warren City Council held a public hearing on Sept. 23 on a nuisance-abatement petition seeking demolition of a boarded, vacant house at 2199 Emmons.

City staff described a long history of code hearings dating to 2023 and said water had been shut off at the property since February 2017. Paul Lazay, a city staff member who handles the property files, told council the house had been the subject of four hearings and that a partial tax payment last year kept it from foreclosure. Lazay said he had not been inside the house and had based his enforcement on exterior inspections and records.

Homeowner Queen Lutu told the council she had allowed a man, identified in the record as Robert Nichols, to live in the house while he was supposed to maintain it; she said he had been removed from the property but had damaged the inside. Lutu said she has arranged contractors and planned to start drywall work next week and to address an animal issue with a pest-control contractor this Friday.

Council members pressed Lutu on whether she had received previous notices. She said most mail had been taken at the property while the occupant remained there and that she had been threatened and was reluctant to go onto the property before the occupant was removed. Lutu said she had begun payments to address taxes and planned repairs.

Staff explained the process for restoring a boarded, unsafe structure: the owner must obtain a city certification (city cert) and then building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and zoning inspectors would inspect the property and produce violation lists. Lazay said the inspections could be scheduled within a couple of weeks if the owner came in to obtain the required city certs and pay the applicable fees (he said the city cert fee was approximately $300).

Several council members urged an interior inspection to determine whether the structure is salvageable. Councilman Lafferty proposed a date-certain: he asked staff whether reports could be completed and returned to council by Oct. 28 if the owner paid for city certs and arranged inspections. Lazay said that was feasible if the owner initiated the process and scheduled the five inspections.

The council considered a motion to table the demolition to Oct. 28 to allow inspections and reporting. The motion to table was put to a roll-call vote and failed (3 in favor, 4 opposed). The meeting record shows council debate followed and that a motion to approve demolition was renewed later in the agenda; the transcript does not record a final disposition on demolition in the public record excerpt provided here. Council members said they would proceed with an inspection if the owner came forward to secure city certifications and schedule the five inspector visits before Oct. 28; staff said otherwise the matter would be returned for disposition at the next council meeting.

No council action to demolish the house is recorded in the available transcript beyond the failed tabling motion and the renewed motion to approve; staff were directed to perform inspections if the owner pays the city cert fees and arranges access.

The public record shows the home had a multi-year pattern of vacancy, water shutoff since 2017 and tax delinquencies that may include county-level obligations in addition to city charges. Council members repeatedly said their willingness to delay final disposition depended on the owner 's following the inspection and permitting steps advised by staff.