More than 30 houses were slated for demolition in the city over the course of four 2024 meetings of the Akron Housing Appeals Board.
How does this independent citizens’ panel, responsible for reviewing home demolition recommendations and houses with health code violations, deal with vacant or neglected homes in Akron?
How do homes end up on the city’s demolition list? Who owns the land once the property is demolished? How are board members chosen? (They’re appointed by the mayor and approved by Akron City Council.)
When a home is in violation of the city’s health code, it becomes the business of the Akron Housing Compliance Division, which is responsible for home inspections. Sanitarian Supervisor Jodie Forester walked Signal Akron through the process, starting with the initial report.
How are housing violations reported?
In Akron, housing violations are reported to the Housing Compliance Division, which enforces the Environmental Health Housing Code, in an effort to ensure safe and sanitary living conditions for residents.
Any citizen can make a complaint, and violations can also be discovered by referrals from other agencies or inspector observations. Residents looking to file a complaint can call 311 or email a complaint form to HousingCodeComplaints@akronohio.gov.
Forester added that the complaint forms can be mailed or a person filing a complaint can stop by the division’s office, which is located on the eighth floor of the Akron Municipal Building at 166 S. High St.
The complaints can also be submitted anonymously.
Once a complaint is filed, an inspector from the Housing Compliance Division completes an inspection. If the violations are verified, the inspector issues a compliance order, giving the property owner time to make the necessary adjustments — the amount of time is up to the inspector.
If the property owner fails to fix the problems, they may be fined and the case may be sent to the Housing Appeals Board.
“Nothing goes before the Housing Appeals Board unless we already have an active housing code violation file,” Forester said.
What kinds of violations can be reported?
Forester said that it is common for buildings that are more than 60% deteriorated to be sent to the Housing Appeals Board. Buildings that have structural damage, holes in the roof or fire damage fall in this category.
Property violations that are a public nuisance — things that are dangerous to the health, safety or comfort of the general public — may be reported.
Examples of violations include:
- Improper garbage disposal
- Failure to exterminate insects, rodents or other pests
- Broken stairs or porches
- Neglected fences
- Broken windows
- Worn roofs
- Peeling paint
- Hanging gutters
How does Akron’s appeals board decide which houses will be demolished?
When a case makes its way to the Housing Appeals Board, it is reviewed during the board’s monthly meeting. The board meets the fourth Thursday of every month in Akron City Council Chambers from 9 a.m. until all current cases are reviewed.
Property owners are encouraged to attend the meetings so they may provide a written plan for how they will make the necessary repairs. Neighbors can also attend and testify about the effect the cited nuisances are having on the neighborhood.
After hearing the testimony, the board makes its ruling. They can grant the property owner a 30- to 90-day extension to continue fixing the situation or recommend the property for demolition.
At a July 25 meeting, the Housing Appeals Board reviewed 11 cases — seven were recommended for demolition. For most of the properties slated for demolition, the owners were not present at the hearing nor had they been in contact with the Housing Division, and the properties remained vacant and dilapidated.
In one case, the owners were present, but the property had remained in unlivable condition since fall 2023.
If a property is slated for demolition, the owner has 30 days to appeal the order. When a building is demolished, the property is still owned by the initial property owner, as the city only has the authorization to eliminate the nuisance, Forester said. The property owner is also liable for the cost of demolition.
Why does Akron want to demolish these buildings?
Demolishing blighted houses is a cost-saving measure, Forester said, as an “exorbitant” amount of money is spent re-securing unlivable housing. When owners fail to secure their property, the Housing Division is responsible for sending contractors to complete the work, in an effort to keep people out of the structures.
“And so if we let a property sit for five, 10, 15 years and just let it sit there and continue to deteriorate, we’re actually spending more money monitoring that property than we would if it was demolished,” Forester said.