Staff
After serving a search warrant and arresting three people, Sweet Home Police Department abated an ongoing code enforcement violation in the apartment complex at 1240 and 1250 Nandina St.
The abatement was “for significant amounts of household garbage, trash, debris,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. “Miscellaneous items had been strewn throughout the property. It got to the point of public health concerns.”
“It had stemmed from several neighbors in the area complaining about the debris that was collecting up there, the stench,” said Code Enforcement Officer Gina Riley. She initiated the code enforcement process against the properties on July 1.
Riley said the property had garbage service, but it was insufficient, with containers filling up in a day.
Cited in connection to the code enforcement action were Brenda Thompson, 57; Louis Bradley Phillips, 56; and Debra Brown, 57. All three appeared in Municipal Court last week on the charges, said clerk Dianna Huenergardt, but the court took no action and is awaiting updated information from the code enforcement officer.
Possible citations are pending against other residents and the property owners, Brett and Becky Adams, Riley said.
The city hired a local company to clean up the property, Lynn said. He remained on site following the drug-related search warrant and during the abatement.
“I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the abatement crew there by themselves,” he said. “It actually worked really well. The overwhelming number of tenants were very responsive and even helped, to a point.”
The property owners have not been responsive during the code enforcement process, Lynn said, so the Police Department sent certified letters to everyone involved and posted the property for abatement.
The city doesn’t abate property often, and it has been more than six years since the city actually abated a property, said City Manager Craig Martin. During the period two to six years ago, the city used the code enforcement process to compel property owners to clean up. More than six years ago, the city used the Linn County corrections crew to clean up a property.
The Police Department took over code enforcement in August 2013, and it had not abated any properties until now.
Typically, unresponsive property owners and tenants will receive notices and eventually be cited into court for failure to comply with the city’s codes.
When the violation poses a public health problem, then the city may abate it, Lynn said. “We felt it was incumbent on us to begin the abatement process.”
The property owner will receive a bill for the cleanup, Lynn said. If it is not paid, then the city will initiate a lien against the property.
Police talked to each tenant about what they’re going to do in the future, Lynn said. Several have already set up garbage service.
The properties will remain in code enforcement, Riley said. To the north of the complex, trash is collecting on a hillside and needs to be cleaned up.