Village looks to bring down vacant home

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

A long-deteriorated home will likely have a date with demolition equipment as Village of Waterford officials go through a multi-tiered series of legal maneuvers.

After hearing impassioned pleas from nearby residents and soliciting legal advice from Village Attorney Marcy Hasenstab, the Village Board on Nov. 9 decided to raze the riverfront home, which is located at 418 Fox Isle Park Drive.

In late October, the village’s building inspector, Martin Montoya, toured the interior property and compiled a lengthy list of code violations.

Hasenstab said the cost of addressing the code violations and fixing the home up for suitable habitation would exceed more than half the cost of the equalized value of the property. That mathematical equation is frequently a trigger to begin demolition proceedings.

The Fox Isle Park Drive home has long been unoccupied, and currently is in the hands of a trust that is linked to the most recent property owner. Hasenstab said a representative of the trust lives in Golf, Ill., in suburban Chicago, and efforts to reach out to that representative have, thus far, been unsuccessful.

Resident Nancy Torngren, a neighbor of the property under scrutiny, was among the group of speakers who implored village officials to take action and proceed with demolition work.

“It’s not worth saving — not for the length of time it’s been sitting there,” Torngren said. “It’s moldy, and there are critters going in and out of there.”

Trustee Don Houston, who lives in the area, offered similar sentiments.

“It does have to be torn down,” Houston said. “I have to look at it daily.”

At the earliest, Hasenstab said the home will not come down until spring, in part because of the numerous steps the village needs to take to initiate a formal raze order. The process includes posting legal notices in Waterford and Golf, Ill., and giving the land trustee a 30-day window to comment on the decision.

Since there has not been any communication between village staffers and the land trustee, Hasenstab said the village stands a chance of fronting the cost of razing the home. The final cost, in turn, would be forwarded on to the property tax bill with 12-percent annual interest tacked on.

“It could be several years (before the money) is received,” Hasenstab said. “You’re going to be spending a lot of money, at least initially, but obviously this home needs to come down.”

Village President Tom Roanhouse said he favored moving forward with the raze order and is optimistic it will lead to long-term viability on what has been a long-dormant property.

“By going ahead with (the raze order), we won’t have an eyesore, rodent-infested, stinky house,” Roanhouse said. “This is a riverfront property. I’m confident it will be sold at some point.”