Huntington City Council voted Dec. 23 to declare a property on the South Side of Fifth Avenue a public nuisance and authorized the city attorney to seek abatement, including asking a circuit court for injunctive relief if necessary.

City Attorney Scott Damron told council that inspectors’ affidavits and photographs show "the buildings are, collapsing" and that "the asbestos hasn't been abated," and he urged the council to take the first legal step to clear the site so nearby development can proceed. He said the action is authorized under state code provisions that permit municipal boards to acknowledge nuisances and order their removal.

A member of the public and a property representative identified as Mister Yon addressed council during public comment. Yon said he had spoken to the owner and "encourage[d] them to go down and begin the permit process and demolish this," and that the owner told him a six-month timeline was feasible. Yon asked the city to work with the owner and suggested benchmarks could avoid litigation. "I asked for a timeline, and he told me 6 months," Yon told council.

Damron and council members said city staff would meet with the owner and inspectors to determine which structures on the parcel require removal and that filing a lawsuit could be delayed if productive talks continue. Council adopted the resolution after a public-safety committee report recommending the measure.

The resolution identifies the parcel as 2400 Fifth Avenue (aka 2401 Fifth Avenue) and names Everett Hannah Properties 2 LLC as the owner. The council action authorizes the city to pursue removal of unsafe or collapsing buildings, clean up debris, and seek court orders to require owner compliance if voluntary remediation does not occur. The city attorney said photographs and inspectors’ affidavits were provided to council as evidence.

Next steps, according to council remarks, include staff meeting with the owner and inspectors to identify structures for abatement and to pursue legal remedies if the owner does not meet any agreed benchmarks; the transcript records an owner representative saying an excavator was already on site and that some asbestos had been removed but that additional review by DEP and other departments would occur.