Emergency Housing Commission condemns unit at 1506 Carwell Lane after inspectors find sewage, structural and electrical hazards

The Emergency Housing Commission voted unanimously Feb. 5 to condemn unit 1509C at the 1506 Carwell Lane rental complex after city code inspectors found raw sewage beneath one building and multiple life-safety and habitability problems affecting dozens of units.

Code enforcement officer Tori told commissioners inspectors smelled raw sewage in a crawl space and found plumbing penetration pipes not tied to the sewer system, which left human feces under the building. "That's probably the nastiest unit I've ever been in in my entire time working here," Tori said. She described missing smoke detectors, wiring hanging without protection, holes in floors, appliances that discharged electricity and units with no or unreliable water.

The commission's action followed a staff recommendation that 1509C be condemned for human habitation. Vice Chairperson Ezell made the motion to condemn 1509C; Commissioner Souder seconded. The vote was recorded as yes from Vice Chairperson Ezell, Commissioner Souder, Commissioner Thompson and Chairperson Davis; the motion carried.

Why this matters: the complex contains multiple buildings and 26 rented units, and code staff said one quadplex (four units) is directly affected by the sewage connection problem, putting roughly four households at immediate risk and creating conditions that could spread to other units if not addressed.

What inspectors found and said Code enforcement said the complex is arranged in about five buildings (two of them with two units and the rest with four units), for an estimated total of 26 units. Tori said the raw-sewage problem was localized to one building that contains four units, that some tenants reported toilets not working and that several units have plumbing, electrical and structural defects. She said one tenant reported shocks from a stove and another reported a refrigerator area with floor failure.

Tori also said inspectors encountered animals and "animal feces everywhere" in the worst unit and that dogs had been left in the property. She recommended removal of the animals and said one unit — 1509C — should be condemned immediately. Tori noted that while not every unit was immediately uninhabitable, "the rest of them need to be worked on immediately," and she recommended prioritizing life-safety repairs.

Owner response and remediation plan Wesley (Wes) Williams, the property's owner, addressed the commission with family members present and said the complex represents his life savings and pledges to remediate the problems. "I positively assure you that we will take care of everything," Williams said, adding that he expected to begin work within three days of a unit becoming vacant and estimated a 60-to-90-day timeline to complete full repairs on the 1506 building. He said exterior cleanup had already started and that smoke detectors had been checked in most units and would be completed the next day.

Williams and a family representative said they already had a contractor and an extermination contract, and that they planned to replace stoves and refrigerators where needed. They also said they intended to tighten tenant screening and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for police calls.

Permits, next steps and oversight Code staff told the owner that building, plumbing and possibly electrical permits would be required for repairs; staff agreed to help guide the owner through the permitting process. The owner agreed to pull an "umbrella" permit covering the entire building to avoid multiple separate permit applications. Code enforcement said it and building inspectors (including Michael Howell, who staff identified as working with inspections) would monitor progress from start to finish and that the condemned unit would be accessible only to retrieve personal property under staff supervision.

Commissioners also discussed animal control involvement for animals left in the condemned unit and asked staff to keep the commission informed. The owner said unloading exterior debris and obtaining a large dumpster were already in progress. Commission staff said they expected permits and visible progress by the commission's next regular meeting.

Formal action The commission approved a motion to condemn unit 1509C for human habitation. The motion authorizes staff to limit access to the unit to supervised retrieval of personal property and allows the owner to proceed with permitted repairs and inspections. The commission indicated it would reconvene if additional units needed condemnation.

Follow-up Code enforcement will monitor remediation and report back to the commission; the owner committed to beginning repairs and to ongoing communication with staff. The commission's next regular meeting is scheduled for the second Wednesday of the month, and staff said they expected to report permit issuance and initial repair activity by that meeting.