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Resident urges Gadsden City Council to pursue abatement of long‑standing Hillside Circle apartment blight
Summary
A neighbor told the Gadsden City Council the Hillside Circle/Garden Terrace apartment complex has been a public‑safety and economic blight for 14 years and urged the city to use its nuisance‑abatement authority; the city attorney said a resolution to order abatement has been prepared for council consideration.
William Shiffman, who said he owns property adjoining the Garden Terrace/Hillside Circle Apartments, told the Gadsden City Council that the apartment complex has been vacant, unsafe and deteriorating for more than 14 years and petitioned the city for permanent abatement.
"For more than 14 years, this apartment complex has been subject to repeated condemnation findings, public nuisance determination, city enforcement actions, court proceedings, and repeated promises of redevelopment," Shiffman told the council, saying he personally collected signatures from about 150 residents and spoke with more than 200 neighbors about the problem.
Shiffman recounted a court sequence that, he said, included a condemnation release recorded on March 31, 2025, after which the city allowed a 120‑day redevelopment period that he said expired on July 26, 2025. He said no reconstruction or repairs have occurred, the buildings remain unsecured, children enter the structures, and feral animals and trespassing persist. He asked the city to require Hillside Circle LLC to remove fencing that encroaches on city sidewalks, restore damaged sidewalks and reimburse the city for repair costs.
City Attorney Lee Roberts responded with a legal overview of the city’s options and history with the property. Roberts said the parcel is private property and that the city is bound by court procedures and statutory steps before it can order demolition or abatement on private land. He outlined prior negotiations with the property owner and a New Jersey firm that asserted it had invested substantially in the site, which led a circuit court to release condemnation and grant additional time for redevelopment.
Roberts told the council he has since restarted the administrative process and has signed a resolution that will ask the council to order abatement. "Last week, I signed a resolution that's gonna go for the council to order an abatement," he said, adding that if the owners appeal, the city’s position in court may be stronger this time.
Roberts described potential remedies the city could pursue — citations, summonses, nuisance abatement and, ultimately, court‑ordered demolition — but cautioned that private‑property rights and prior court rulings shape the city's options. Councilmembers thanked Shiffman for the packet of documents he provided, which included past nuisance resolutions, court orders, code‑enforcement notices and photographs.
What happens next: Roberts indicated the legal department will present an abatement resolution for council action; the transcript records his statement that he has signed such a resolution and that the city intends to proceed administratively and, if necessary, through the courts. The council did not adopt a new abatement measure during the meeting; Roberts’ prepared resolution will return to the council for formal consideration.
