Murrysville council authorizes emergency demolition of fire-damaged rear garage at 2150 Carolina Street

Murrysville — Borough council authorized an emergency demolition of the fire-damaged rear garage at 2150 Carolina Street, voting unanimously to approve the action after staff described the structure as an immediate hazard.

"It was damaged a couple weeks ago by a fire, and now the condition is, at an emergency situation," said Mister Nistica, the staff presenter, describing the rear garage as visible through and structurally compromised. He explained borough procedures under the municipal code (chapter 87) and said that in emergency scenarios the formal hearing timeline can be waived and staff can order demolition and later file a lien against the property if the owner fails to act.

Staff said the property owner told code enforcement they would demolish the rear garage, but staff also noted a history of sporadic compliance at the property and requested council authorization as a safeguard. Under the code-enforcement process described by staff, a property owner was given a 10-day notice to remove the unsafe structure; if the owner does not follow through, the borough may contract demolition and file a lien for costs.

Council moved to add the demolition authorization to the agenda and later voted to approve the demolition (item 13e). "If code enforcement has declared it an emergency, it certainly would seem so," a council member said during the discussion. The motion to approve the demolition, which cited tax MAC map number 4916140164, passed with unanimous support.

Staff will proceed under the borough's emergency-demolition authority if the owner does not remove the structure, and will coordinate inspections of remaining conditions after demolition to determine compliance and any further action.

Next steps: staff will monitor owner compliance during the 10-day notice period and, if necessary, initiate borough-contracted demolition and lien filing as provided by borough code.