Neighbors concerned about status of dilapidated homes

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 | 11:31 a.m.

Three downtown Henderson properties, once part of a $27 million plan for a retail and office complex, instead became vacant eyesores and dangerous places that provide shelter for drug dealers and the homeless, neighbors said.

In response to complaints -- culminating in a recent petition signed by about 250 area residents -- the city told the property owners two weeks ago that the three homes needed to be either demolished or fixed up.

Since then, litter around the properties was picked up, one house was demolished, and another is expected to be razed within a month, city officials said.

And while that progress was welcomed by the neighbors, some still worry their fight isn't over.

"They're boarded up and you can't just walk in anymore," neighbor Judy Jenkins said about the remaining dilapidated homes. "But how long will that last? ... How long is it before someone goes in there again and someone gets hurt? We'll just have to wait and see, and that's kind of scary."

City officials say new property maintenance laws expected to go to the City Council within three months should give the city more power to get property owners to fix up their homes before they become so bad demolition is considered a reasonable alternative.

Neighbors complained loudly to City Hall about the properties at 11 and 15 Arkansas Ave. and 322 Nebraska Ave., properties they said have been vacant since developer Phyllis Thompson purchased them in 2001.

City officials said the properties were part of Thompson's planned Fountain Plaza, a proposed retail and office complex that was endorsed by the city in July 1999, but then killed 2 1/2 years later when Thompson couldn't come up with private financing for the project.

Thompson didn't return telephone messages left last week and Monday seeking comment for this story. A representative from Phyllis Thompson Companies left a telephone message at the Sun last week, but did not return telephone calls left at the office since then.

Thompson no longer owns the properties, according to city officials, Clark County land records, and the court-appointed receiver for the company that now owns some of the properties. However, neighbors and others say Thompson was the one who let the properties deteriorate to the point that they became public nuisances.

"The cause for this is that Phyllis Thompson's dream didn't become a reality," said Mary Lou Crisler, who lives next to some of the problem properties. "She left them as an eyesore to the community. She hasn't taken responsibility for them."

City Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers said that while the city has a responsibility to help residents improve their neighborhoods, ultimately the homeowner is the one responsible for keeping their property looking nice.

The council is scheduled to hear a report on the properties tonight.

Henderson's Manager of Inspection Services Greg Blackburn said the new owners were quick to respond to the city's request that they either fix up or remove the homes.

The house at 322 Nebraska Ave. was demolished Wednesday, which Crisler said was a "very, very pleasant surprise."

The house at 11 Arkansas Ave., which has a collapsed roof and mushrooms growing inside it, will be demolished within a month, Blackburn said. Asbestos testing needs to be done first, he said.

The house at 15 Arkansas Ave. is being fixed and will be sold, he said.

Blackburn said they also asked the owners to clean up 326 Nebraska Ave. and to remove the house foundation that has been exposed since the house there was demolished about a year ago.

While the homes are in a city redevelopment area, that didn't give the city any more power to forceably purchase the homes, a process known as eminent domain. To use eminent domain the city would have to have a project that would benefit the public planned for the property. The city got involved with the houses in question because officials believed they may pose dangers to the community, Mark Zalaoras, a deputy city attorney, said.

The city would have to have prove the homes presented a danger to the community or were health hazards in order to tear them down without the owners' permission, Blackburn said.

A proposed property maintenance code that will go to the council within 90 days should give the city more power in dealing with deteriorating properties, he said.

Now the city can go after a homeowner for leaving a house unsecured or letting weeds grow too high. Bu the city cannot cite a homeowner for having peeling paint or a broken second-story window, for example. Both of those scenarios would be addressed by the proposed code.

City Councilman Jack Clark said that while the problem homes in the old downtown neighborhood needed to be demolished, he's hopeful new property maintenance laws will help prevent a similar situation from happening again.