City of Edmond petitions court to force sale of problem property
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — The City of Edmond has filed a petition in the Oklahoma County District Court to persuade a judge to force the sale of a troubled property.
The property in question is located at 1300 E Ayers, and was declared a public nuisance by the Edmond City council. The city gave property owners until its March 11 meeting to resolve issues said to pose a threat to the health and safety of the property's tenants and community.
City and county inspections of the New Life Village, an apartment complex on the property, this year found numerous violations. They ranged from overdue inspections on fire prevention and detection equipment, to rodent and insect infestations.
The city also obtained data from the local fire and police departments noting numerous and expensive responses to the property.
"It paints a picture of a landowner who's neglectful at best, of this property, which has created his own public nuisance," said Edmond City Councilor Tom Robins.
Robins represents Ward 1, where the property is located. Robins said the situation spans years.
A warranty deed for the property said its owners have owned it since December 2003.
"This particular owner, over a period of more than 10 years, has allowed dilapidation and created its own public nuisance, an area with significant public health and safety needs," said Robins.
Robins said he was made aware of the issue when he was contacted by a resident living on the property. He said he had also previously toured the property and seen various issues with his own eyes.
"It wasn't a secure building, it was easy to access," said Robins. "I could see the graffiti, the broken windows, the blocked fire exits."
Edmond VFW 4938 said it's also gotten involved in the ongoing issues recently, telling News 4 the property owners had offered affordable housing to some of the veterans it helps.
"They were putting out there free housing for veterans," said Deric Duncan, Commander of the Edmond VFW. "It was just so uninhabitable when I saw it. I know they're saying that they've done improvements since then, but when I first had to lay eyes on the inside, it wasn't a spot I would recommend anyone be in."
Duncan said he was aware of some veterans staying at the property, but hadn't recommended any seek it out.
Robins said the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency has reissued housing vouchers to veterans staying at New Life to help.
City inspectors acknowledged at a March 11 meeting that the property owners were making some improvements to the interior and exterior of the building, with a bulk of concerns tied to the second and third floors. Those floors have not been greenlit for any tenant to live on them.
An attorney representing the property owners declined comment to News 4 Thursday, but did tell city councilors at the March meeting that addressing every code violation would be expensive.
"We've already had a contractor come out to look at the property give us estimates on what it's going to take to bring everything up to code," said attorney Danny Shadid. "It's a six figure number, a lower six figure number."
Duncan said that how he's seen people be treated by the owners has not been in line with Oklahoma's values.
"We have an Oklahoma standard of how we treat people, and this is not living up to that standard," said Duncan.
A hearing date for the petition has not been set.