Lamont council orders demolition of unsafe house at 609 Bush Street and hears proposal for stricter nuisance penalties

On Nov. 9, 2022, the Lamont City Council voted unanimously to authorize the demolition or removal of a vacant, hazardous structure at 609 Bush Street after the property owner failed to comply with repair notices.

Compliance Officer Jeremiah Owens told the council the property demonstrated "various inadequacies, manifestly unsafe, inadequate maintenance, fire hazard, and abandoned" conditions under City Code 145.03, and recommended enforcement. Councilmember Behrens moved to authorize demolition; Councilmember Devlin seconded the motion, and the council recorded all ayes.

Owens also presented a separate proposal to revise the city's nuisance-abatement ordinance to allow enforcement penalties to be assessed after each contact if a nuisance remains and to limit enforcement effort to three contacts before initiating legal action. The council did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting; Owens presented the proposal as a direction for possible future enforcement changes.

The demolition motion directs the city's enforcement officer to proceed and states that the costs of demolition or removal shall be charged to the property's owner and levied as a special assessment against the property, to be certified to the County Treasurer for collection as provided in City Code 145.08.

Council members did not identify any separate appeals or public comments on the demolition during the meeting record. The council's action is procedural: staff will now implement the enforcement and assessment steps specified in the motion.