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Carter Lake council authorizes notice to demolish garage after owner fails to respond
Summary
After repeated statutory notices and no response from the owner, the Carter Lake City Council voted to send a letter giving the owner a deadline and to proceed with demolition of a dilapidated garage if the owner does not comply. Council discussed inspections, eminent domain and resale as alternatives.
The Carter Lake City Council voted to authorize staff to send a letter notifying the property owner that the city will move forward with demolition of a dilapidated garage if the owner does not address code violations by the stated deadline.
City attorney David told the council the city had given the owner multiple statutory notices of violations and a notice of impending demolition and that the statutorily required response periods have elapsed without substantive engagement. "We've provided them with notice of their violations multiple times ... we haven't heard anything back," David said, describing demolition as a last resort but legally permissible given the notice process was completed.
Councilmembers discussed alternatives before demolition, including asking whether the city could take possession and auction the structure, pursuing eminent domain to secure public purpose for acquisition and resale, or sending a structural engineer to assess the building. One council member said a structural inspection could inform cost estimates and whether the full structure or only the garage should be demolished.
Members also noted the practical limits of recovering demolition costs from the owner and that certified mail showed notices had been received. David explained that the city could pursue a clean route of buying or scrapping the whole property and selling it to recoup demolition costs, but that demolition remains an option if compliance is not forthcoming.
The motion that passed directs staff to issue a written notice that the city will proceed with demolition of the garage after the stated date and keeps open the option to revisit whether to demolish additional structures if further information or an offer to remediate is received. Council discussion referenced bids and possible cost ranges discussed in workshop (figures were discussed during the meeting but exact low-bid amounts were not finalized in the public record). The council recorded a roll-call vote approving the motion.
