Hillsboro schedules Nov. 4 public hearings for two long-troubled properties

Hillsboro’s City Council voted to set public hearings on Nov. 4, 2025 for code-enforcement actions at two properties with repeated violations.

City Administrator Matt Stiles and code-enforcement staff summarized the cases. For 401 South Ash staff cited dead trees and limbs, metal junk, overgrown vegetation and a dilapidated fence and said multiple notices had produced no response. Stiles said a cleanup order would be the likely remedy after the hearing and that the city can contract the cleanup and assess the cost as a special assessment to the property if the owner does not comply.

The second property, 310 North Washington, was described as a recurring problem involving an out-of-town owner (identified in the staff report as Dennis Gora) and possible ties to bankruptcy. Stiles recommended a demolition order for that structure and noted the property had been subject to multiple code-enforcement actions over several years.

Staff explained required public-notice steps (two consecutive publications in the local paper and notice on the city website, plus certified notice to the property owner) and said the hearings would allow the council to issue orders with reasonable compliance deadlines following the hearing. Council members asked about outreach history; staff said efforts to contact owners had continued for a year to five years in the two cases and had largely produced no meaningful progress.

The council approved resolutions to set the hearings for Nov. 4 and directed staff to follow code-notice procedures.