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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1963)
City Officials Wage Strong Condemnation Drive On Sub-Standard Housing By DAV WAI.TKRS Klamath Falls officials are wagin? a continuing campaign to rid the city of substandard build ings. Armed with copies of the Uni form Building Code, inspectors from the office of chief build ing inspector. Verne Schortgen. have had more than 100 buildings in the city demolished within the pist yea and a half. About half of these buildings were destroyed after condemna tion proceedings, while the oth ers were burned or torn down voluntarily by the owners after being advised to do so by the building inspector's office. Schortgen says the campaign is designed to "upgrade the city." But this drive has not met with the blessing of at least some of the landlords. One. Frank R. Weaver, was visibly ancered last week ulu.n the city council condemned four of fiv? cabins he owns on Port land Street. He read denouncing the action and the meeting had to be called to or der at one point. The Portland Street structures are typical of the buildings that nave been demolished in the last year and a half. Most of tliem are small fram buildings which are rented cheaply to low-income families. Although there is no "slum" wher the substandard structures are in great number, certain sections of the city North Side for one do contain more than other sections. Most of the buildings were built a number of years ago as fhean hnnonn tnr an inflnv nf lumber workers. Many of them are converted garages. Although they are substandard for different reasons, all have one thing in common neglect. For instance, says Schortgen, a house in otherwise good condi tion and worth thousands of dol lars may be considered sub standard if windows are broken and the house left open. Homes that are suspect come to the attention of the buildine inspector from many sources inciufling routine checks oy nis staff. The insoertnrs are cuiflpd in their evaluations by a section of the Uniform Building Code, which was adopted by the city in its Mr7 , present form in I960. The code is also tlie law in many other cities. Section 20.1 of the code lays down the conditions for a sub standard building. Tlie section slates: "All buildings or structures which are structurally unsafe or not provided with adequate egress or which constitute a fire hazard or are otherwise dangerous to human life, or which in relation to existing use constitute a haz ard to safety or health, or public welfare by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obso lescence or abandonment, as spe cified in this code or any other effective ordinance, are, for the purpose of this section, unsafe buildings. All such unsafe build ings are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be abated by repair, rehabilitation, demolition or removed in accord ance with the procedure specified in subsections ib, (c) and id) of this section." These delinitions cover a mul titude of sins, and Schorgen says buildings which may he injuri tliat if he was out to enforce aious to lives or nronertv. vendetta against property owners. I As an examole. Schorluen rites prolMhy a neat percentage of he case o( ,,x2,.(oot shack ; the buildings in the cty could be hlch , Hliman and nor four ch1. Idren were living. He said the MRS. WII.I.ARD M1TCHKLL of Poplarville. Miss., visited her sis ter. Mrs. liay Wharton, 6800 South Sixth, (or a week before return ing home. 41 .t. HOUSES BURNED This vacant lot on Michigan Avenue was left by the recent burn ing or tearing down of several houses which were condemned after being declared substandard by a city building inspector. More than 100 buildings in the city have been destroyed within the past year and a half after being condemned. City Briefs CUTTING THE HIM, GRASS FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Ken tucky Department of Highways is using four self-propelled machines with mountain goat characteris- tics to cut grass and weeds along steep slopes of interstate and turn pike routes in Eastern Kentucky. The mowers will cut going up hill at angles approaching 90 de grees and down-hill at 80-degree angles. condemned. receiving money from the coun ty welfare department and Schortgen says she is typical of the residents of these houses. When a building is determined to be substandard, Schortgcn's of- nut, the building inspector savs bulllline wa dividoH into funMirx notifies the nuuer his oflue is more concerned with; sections kitchen and bathroom. I In some cases, a few repairs the spirit of the section, which land sleeping quarters. land cleaning will bring (lie struc- is to protect the public from The woman in this cae was I tines up to par. r -... ml , . But in the majority, demolition is the only answer because the buildings are not worth the re pairs that would be necessary. In about half of these cases, the property owners agree to de stroy the buildings with no ac tion taken. Destruction by burning is the cheapest and most effective meth od, since there is generally noth ing worth salvaging from the structures. Off-duty firemen are hired to conduct the burning and are paid directly by the owner. In many cases, the houses are owned by persons who live out-of-to'vn It is frequently difficult (or the building inspector to con tact them, or if able to contact them, get their cooperation. Alo, many of the property owners refuse to voluntarily cor rect the situations. In a case where voluntary de molition can not be secured. Schorl con files condemnation pro ceedings with the city council and a hearing is scheduled. These hearings have been regu lar features on the city council agenda during the past lew years. Alter the hearing in which all sides of the question are heard the council decides whether to condemn the building in question If the building is condemned the owner has up to tiO days to destroy it and clear the land. - He may apnlv for an extension under certain circumstances. ' ' If the destruction order i& not followed. Schortgen initiates pro ceedings to demolish the building. Again, off-duty firemen are used for these jobs and the buildings are burned after all valuables are removed. A lien is olaced aeainst the empty lot that is left and if the landowner does not pay the de molition costs voluntarily, the land is sold at auction. Demoli tion costs are deducted from the sale price and the balance is returned to tlie owner. Tlie camraim to clear sub standard buildings from the city is not one which will likely slow down in coming vears. Each year brings its crop of build ings upon wnicn action will nave to be taken. CONDEMNED Four of these Portland Street cabins owned by Frank R. Weaver were ordered condemned by the city council last week as part of a continuing cam paign to rid the city of substandard structures. They are typical of the buildings that have been destroyed through city action within the last year and a half. HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls, Oregon Wednesday, August 14, 196,1 PAGE 9 A KODACOLOR FILM ONE DAY SERVICE UNDERWOOD'S CAMERA SHOP 719 Main Midland Empire's Budget Plan Helps Avoid Lump Sum . Premiums 0O Bp Friendy Clem V Lesueur LA it,. 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