July 3, 2014 [Amy Popik, The News-Herald]
Mayfield Heights City Council has declared four properties nuisances and will move forward with demolitions this summer.
Council unanimously voted each property a nuisance and showed support for the demolitions at a special meeting of council July 2.
Properties that may be demolished include:
— 1104 Summit Drive —single-family dwelling and attached garage
— 1150 Commonwealth Ave. — single-family dwelling
— 1397 Worton Blvd. — detached garage
— 1563 Crestwood Road — single-family dwelling and detached garage
All properties are vacant, and the city will send a notice to property owners stating the property has been declared a nuisance by city council.
Within 30 days, the property owner can stop a demolition if the nuisance is abated, said Mayfield Heights Law Director Paul Murphy. If there is no response, the city can move forward with the demolition.
The city recently signed a contract with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank that will allow Mayfield Heights to submit a request to the land bank to demolish the properties, Mayor Anthony DiCicco said.
The land bank has 30 days to decide if they will accept the property and demolish it or reject the property and the city continues on with the demolition.
The Cuyahoga County Land Bank will make a decision on each property, not as a group.
If the city is responsible for all the demolitions, it will cost no more than $55,000, according to past resolutions.
DiCicco said the property owner will be responsible for the cost of the demolition, either to the land bank or the city. The property owner can pay for the demolition while it is happening or will be placed on the property tax.
The city demolishes one or two properties a year, he said, but more homes are becoming vacant because of the recent “housing crisis.”
“This is good for the city because these nuisance properties are eyesores and are a safety concern,” DiCicco said. “This will allow us to fight blight in the neighborhoods and typically when a house is demolished a new one is built, so this will work toward improving the housing stock.”