Six houses across Akron added to demolition list; West Hill house removed for now

Housing Appeals Board meeting overview

• The meeting began at 9 a.m.
• All seven of the board members were present: Alyssa Figueroa, Thomas Fuller, LaNeita Jones, Doug Powley, Julie Ann Sweet-Buntin, Kathy Wilkins and Barb Waress.
• Fuller, Powley and Sweet-Buntin were recently appointed by Akron City Council and this was their first meeting as board members. The chair asked them to briefly introduce themselves. Fuller is a Ward 1 resident and was the executive director of Alpha Phi Alpha Homes. Powley said he is retired from the City of Akron. Sweet-Buntin, a Ward 9 resident, has a background in commercial banking and currently works for a nonprofit lender. 
• Five city workers attended, including Housing Supervisor Duane Groeger, Sanitarian Supervisor Jodie Forester and Assistant Director of Law John York. Approximately 30 members of the public were also in attendance.
• York swore in those testifying during the meeting.

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Despite appeal by owner, South Akron home ordered demolished

New Case #6194: 635 Gridley Ave. in South Akron

• Forester said there has been minimal compliance with housing orders issued against the property, which is vacant, dilapidated and tax delinquent. Until recently, the owner’s whereabouts were unknown. The housing division recommended that it be demolished with all costs assessed.
• Forester inspected the exterior of the home on May 15. Due to a fence, she was unable to see the rear of the property. She listed numerous repairs and replacements needed for the exterior, including loose and missing siding and window screens. The driveway needs repairs, and she noted a dumpster in the driveway.
• Cory Stepp, the owner of the home, and his sister, Melissa Stepp, spoke in favor of saving the property. Cory said he has been working on fixing the house and is saving up to do so. The entire downstairs is currently gutted, and he said he has fixed the front porch several times, but the city is not happy with it. He said there is a cockroach problem, and other homes in the area have bugs.
• A board member asked whether they had anything written down and if they could submit a list of repairs they would make to the house if the board granted an extension. Cory said he has gotten some estimates but does not have a current list. Forester said Cory was supposed to schedule an interior inspection with her prior to the meeting but was unable to do so. He said it is hard to schedule due to his work schedule.

Failure to vacate property results in bench warrants

• A board member asked about criminal charges and their status. Forester clarified that criminal charges were filed for failure to vacate the property and for the housing violations. She said the last time she checked, both Cory and Melissa had bench warrants.
• A neighbor spoke in favor of demolishing the property. She lives next door and said her home has a cockroach problem because of the property. She pays to have her house sprayed for cockroaches monthly. Her property has been damaged, and she said that she has been verbally assaulted and threatened by people living at 635 Gridley Ave. She said people are living at the property, despite it being condemned, and she said she does not think granting a 30-day extension will do anything.
• Another neighbor spoke in favor of demolishing the property. She said she previously had a pest problem in her home in 2019. She has never personally had a problem with any of the people at the house, but she said there are problems with the property and it is an eyesore; police are called there often. She does not feel safe having her child play outside.
• Another neighbor, who has lived in the neighborhood for a long time, also spoke and said she doesn’t think the 30-day extension will be effective.
• A board member asked the city for a recommendation. Groeger said the city has been dealing with this property for a while and has received many complaints from neighbors. The city has confirmed that the property is the source of the cockroaches in the neighborhood — the dwelling is unfit and the city recommends demolition.
• The board voted 6-0 to demolish the house. 

Residents rally around West Hill house; reprieve granted

New Case #6192: 284 Crosby St. in West Hill

• Forester said there has been no compliance in housing orders issued. She said the house is vacant, dilapidated, the scene of police activity and heavily water-damaged. The owner is deceased — the housing division recommended it be demolished with all costs assessed.
• Forester inspected the exterior of the property on May 15. Damage to the roof, eaves and siding was noted. The gutters need to be cleaned, water damage on the front porch needs to be fixed and trees need to be trimmed.
• The last interior inspection was done with a search warrant on Oct. 30, 2025. Forester passed around images from that inspection. 
• Eleven people spoke in favor of saving the property. Speakers included Barb Snyder, West Hill Neighborhood Organization President Raina Gonzalez-Homs, WHNO Board Member Krysta Curl, Sasi Kaza (who has been the custodian of the property) and Ward 1 Council Member Fran Wilson.
• Snyder, a real estate agent who has purchased and renovated several historic homes in West Hill since the 1990s, recently toured the home. While she said it needs a lot of work, it is salvageable. She said an attorney has been hired to handle the probate process and a structural engineer has been hired to inspect the home.

Probate process continues after death of owner in 2018

• Max Thomas, the attorney hired to open the probate case, spoke. A board member asked why the house was not placed in probate in 2018, when the owner died. Thomas said he was not sure because he was not involved until recently, but family or friends were keeping the property secure. Thomas said the first step is getting it properly probated. Once filed, the property can be transferred or an administrator to the estate can be appointed. Thomas said he’s not sure yet who will be the administrator and needs to speak with the deceased owner’s heirs, his father and brother. He said the family is interested in working with the neighborhood organization.
• Gonzalez-Homs and Curl both said WHNO has looked into purchasing the property to use it for a community space but have been unable to buy it because of the ownership issues. Curl said this process has encouraged WHNO to do a full inventory of vacant properties in the neighborhood.
• Kaza said he is a friend of the family and has been the custodian of the property since the owner died. He has been paying the taxes and utilities, doing exterior maintenance and maintaining contact with the deceased owner’s father and brother, who both live out of state. He said he has tried to do interior maintenance, but it is more than he can manage. The house is secured with a security system and cameras. There have been at least two instances of a homeless person staying on the porch, but Kaza said the house has not been occupied since 2018. He is supportive of handing over the home to a person or group who could restore it.

Go deeper: Read our full explainer on how Akron decides which derelict houses to tear down, including how to report housing violations in your neighborhood.

After water damage, $50,000 estimated for repair work

• Board members asked several questions about the state of the property and what Kaza has done to maintain it.
• Snyder estimated it would cost about $50,000 to make it structurally sound.
• Wilson spoke in support of the property and mentioned letters they submitted to the board from residents in support of saving the property. 
• Groeger said the city is also saddened that the property is in this state, but there are limited options. He said he has faith in Snyder and WHNO, but does not believe Kaza will restore the home. Groeger said Kaza has mischaracterized his communication with the housing division and the extent of the water damage. Groeger said that, in February of 2025, he found when reviewing records on the property that a pipe had burst in the home, with water pouring into the home for three months. He said the city explored a tax lien, but Kaza paid off the property taxes. The city could not bring the house to the Summit County Land Bank because it was not tax-delinquent. He said the only option was to compel compliance, which was successful because it got people’s attention.
• Based on what he heard from speakers at the meeting, Groeger recommended the board remove the property from the agenda and maintain appropriate compliance with the housing division so that Thomas, Snyder and WHNO can work to get the property through probate and get it into the hands of someone who can restore it.
• One speaker spoke in favor of demolishing the property. He said that he has seen other homes on the agenda that did not have an owner or heir present to speak in favor of the property and the board voted to demolish. Because neither an owner nor heir were present for this property, he said the board should follow that precedent. Figueroa said that the property had legal representation. 
• A board member motioned to remove the property from the agenda to allow for the probate process to proceed and have the housing division follow up on the property as necessary. The board voted unanimously in support of this motion. 

Goodyear Heights house gets 90-day extension

Appeal Case #0553: 1712 Honodle Ave. in Goodyear Heights

• Forester said the home was inspected on May 20, 2024, in response to a complaint. The city found housing violations with orders dated from June 3, 2024. An administrative appeal of $100 was issued for noncompliance on March 20. An appeal for the administrative decision was received on April 3.
• The man who owns and lives at the property spoke in favor of the structure. He said he lives on a fixed income, has had some health issues and is doing the best he can to comply with the orders, given his health and financial situation. He said he was asked to make some repairs in November, which was not a good time due to the weather. He said the cracked sidewalks are due to large oak trees. He said he will do the repairs himself and can begin to do them now that the weather is warming up.
• A board member asked how much time he would need to do the repairs. He said he thought he could make the repairs by July 1 but was not sure about the sidewalks.
• Forester said the housing division was OK to grant an extension; the owner will just need to keep in touch with the city. 
• Groeger said the city would not expect payment of the $100 fine if the property was granted an extension. The city would waive the fee if the repairs are satisfactory.
• The board voted unanimously for a 90-day extension to give the owner time to make repairs.

Daughters of owner make case for more time for repairs

Review Case #6188: 601 Treeside Dr. in Northwest Akron

• Forester said the board granted an extension at the April 16 meeting to keep the property free of refuse, keep the property secure, schedule an interior inspection, obtain the proper permits and inspections, provide a repair plan and provide a local agent. 
• Only the exterior of the property was inspected on May 15. Forester said there has been no progress on the exterior repairs.
• Two daughters of the woman who owns the home spoke. The younger daughter said they did not schedule an interior inspection because of a safety issue involving a raccoon inside the house, which they are addressing. They contracted someone to take care of the garbage outside and received estimates for the trees. They now have two local people who can be at the property on their behalf — both daughters live in Dayton. They are looking at options to fix the property or sell it. 
• A board member stressed that they need to schedule an interior inspection with the city.
• An attorney representing the property’s mortgage company spoke in favor of an extension. She said progress is being made and that they just need more time for repairs.
• The board voted unanimously to grant a 30-day extension to allow time to schedule an interior inspection. The owners also must keep the structure secure and free of refuse, provide a written repair plan based on the inspection to the housing division, and immediately begin repairs if they plan to keep the property. 

Kenmore house shows no repair progress

Review Case #6184: 1178 Chester Ave. in Kenmore

• Forester said an extension was granted at the April 14 meeting to keep the property free of refuse, keep the property secure, schedule an interior inspection and take care of the bench warrant. 
• Only the exterior was inspected on May 15. Forester said there had been no progress to the exterior repairs. The owner did call after hours to schedule an inspection, but Forester said they were unable to find a time that worked for both of their schedules. She asked her to bring photos of the interior to this meeting. She said the owner did take care of the bench warrant and has a hearing soon.
• The owner spoke in favor of the property. He provided the board with photos and said he has made some repairs. He has secured the windows and doors. 

Six houses added to demolition list

Editor’s note: The Documenter had to leave the meeting at 11:40 a.m., and the following cases were remaining on the agenda:

• Review Case #6186: 654 Grace Ave. in West Akron.
• New Case #6193: 873 Delia Ave. in Highland Square.
• New Case #6195: 790 McKinley Ave. in East Akron.
• New Case #6196: 1326 Orlando Ave. in West Akron.
• New Case #6197: 964 Owen Ave. in Summit Lake.
• New Case #6198: 808 Ruth Ave. in Sherbondy Hill.

According to the Housing Appeals Board website, the board voted to demolish six houses at the May 26 meeting. These properties are:

• 873 Delia Ave. 
• 635 Gridley Ave.
• 790 McKinley Ave.
• 1326 Orlando Ave.
• 964 Owen Ave.
• 808 Ruth Ave.