Sources of blight under microscope

City officials focus on Maki, Goodnow-Pearson, S. Bent abandoned buildings

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — As part of the ongoing “urban renewal” initiative, city officials have spent the summer forwarding ordinances and requesting funding aimed at either demolishing or improving the numerous abandoned and vacant buildings across the city — structures that have placed added pressure on both the Fire and Police departments. The first step toward renewing the overall beautification of the city, according to Mayor Mark Hawke, was the implementation of three blight ordinances, something he had considered during his run for office, and had made a top priority during his term. “I had read about the city of Revere during the campaign and they were one of the first places in the state that put something like this forward,” said Mr. Hawke. “We can’t let these absentee landlords let their buildings crumble and do nothing about it.” Mr. Hawke said the Maki building is just one example of an abandoned building in need of repairs. “The example that I kept bringing up was the Maki building,” said Mr. Hawke. “Everyone knows that it has been vacant for over a decade, it’s falling in on itself, it looks terrible, it’s a blight on the community, it’s a significant building in the middle of our downtown that is falling apart and it is bringing down everything around it.” The ordinances are currently written so the city can impose fines on property owners for unsightly building nuisances, properties that are left vacant or abandoned, and locations that frequently sound false security alarms. The first ordinance, which deals with nuisances on property, targets property owners whose buildings are dilapidated or unsightly. Under the new ordinance, violators have a time period of 10 days to correct the problem before being fined by the city. The second ordinance, aimed to eliminate the numerous vacant or abandoned buildings across the city, requires owners to report to the city when a building will be abandoned. The law imposes guidelines that would make sure that owners would continue to secure and maintain the building or face a daily fine of $300. The third and final ordinance deals with properties that frequently sound false fire or security alarms. The ordinance states that a business that sounds more than one false alarm in a six-month period will face fines that range from $25 for a second offense to $150 for a seventh. According to Building Inspector Richard Reynolds, who is the enforcement arm of these blight ordinances, letters have already been sent out to property owners. “We are mailing now, and we will continue to do so,” said Mr. Reynolds. “The owners will have no longer than 30 days to get back to us, that is the legal statute for mostly everything.” Mr. Reynolds has been sending out vacant building registration forms that require building owners to register their buildings, list contact information in case of an emergency, and a building plan for the property which includes demolition, remaining vacant or returning the structure to appropriate occupancy or use. “At least this will get them to get back to me and start the process,” said Mr. Reynolds. “I am sending out a cover letter that states that this is an abandoned building, the costs are listed in the letter, and the ordinance itself will be sent out too. So they know what they have to do, and what will happen if they don’t.” The two fees listed are $500 for furnishing a certificate of building closure for commercial, industrial, four-plus unit, multifamily and mixed-use buildings, and a certification renewal fee of $250 — and $250 for a single-family and up to three-unit multifamily structure and $125 certification renewal fee. During his term in office, Mr. Hawke said he has traveled to Boston several times to meet with state officials and also hosted a forum where he urged Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and Secretary Dan O’Connell to secure funding for demolition funding for the city. Although improving the quality and appearance of the abandoned and vacant buildings in the city is important, Fire Chief Ronald Therrien said simply having so many creates a significant public safety issue. “These buildings from a fire perspective present a number of problems,” said Chief Therrien. “Your typical abandoned building is one that has not been well-maintained, and we have a number of examples of those right here in our city.” Chief Therrien said the city has funding for “brownfield” cleanup, which allows for the post-fire waste removal, but from a financial standpoint it would be much better to have demolition funding. The mayor “is on the right track in his thinking that we are much better off to tear these buildings down now as abandoned buildings than to have them burn down and become brownfields,” said Chief Therrien. “Many of these abandoned buildings have materials like asbestos in them, which when caught in the current of a large fire could spread across long distances, and would be a serious health issue.” While Mr. Hawke recognizes the importance of a well-populated brownfield account, he said demolition funding would help prevent the need for it. “You can fund this brownfield program but that is actually putting the cart before the horse,” said Mr. Hawke. “We need some demolition money so that some of these sites don’t become brownfields.” Many of the abandoned buildings in the heart of the city are connected to viable businesses, which Chief Therrien said could create serious problems if one were to suddenly go up in flames. “If the Maki building were to catch fire right now I am fairly confident that we would be able to contain it to that building, because it sits there by itself,” said Chief Therrien. “However, other buildings in closer proximity, or right next to each other like those on Main Street like Goodnow-Pearson, if one of those buildings ever caught on fire it could take two or three other buildings with it before we could get a handle on it.” Last week, a fire broke out at the former S. Bent & Bros. property, a vacant complex that police officials said was frequently trespassed at night, destroying the only salvageable structure on the property. Mr. Hawke said the fire illustrated the importance of demolition funding, and has helped his cause with state officials. “Now I’ve been told that in September there will be a line item in the state budget for demolition,” said Mr. Hawke. “They are not sure about the dollar amount but there will be a demolition line item in there, because now they see that cities and towns need to get this done.” Lt. John Bernard said the abandoned buildings also pose significant problems for the police department, acting as safe havens for those who wish to remain hidden from the law. “We have to deal with people trespassing,” said Lt. Bernard. “Vagrants and homeless people and youths who want to duck out of the eye of the police get into those buildings.” Once inside the buildings, Lt. Bernard said spraypainting and the storage of stolen property are among the most common crimes committed. “We have found stolen property stored in the city’s abandoned buildings before,” said Lt. Bernard. “These people can’t bring stolen property back to their house, and these structures act as a safe place to keep their items.” Although he doesn’t consider monitoring the buildings a waste of police resources, Lt. Bernard said if they were demolished, local police would have more time for other investigations. “I wouldn’t word it as a waste of resources, but it is an expense of resources to have people check on these buildings,” said Lt. Bernard. “This is our job and if there is a problem in front of us we will deal with it, but obviously if we had less time to watch these abandoned buildings we would have more time to focus on other areas. There is no bright side to having a large number of abandoned buildings in the city.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 8/12/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 190)