Monday, February 06, 2012
 
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County planning and zoning officials discuss Beason building thought unsafe

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[February 06, 2012]  In January, a couple of concerned Beason residents came before the planning and zoning committee of the Logan County Board.

HardwareRebecca Blake and Jodie Duncan believe a building located in the 1500 block of Broadway in Beason to be unsafe. It has partially collapsed.

Blake said that Oran Township officials have been unable to locate the owner of the property and added that property taxes remain unpaid.

She was also interested to find out if it would be possible to make the property into a community park.

Planning and zoning chairman David Hepler asked Logan County's zoning officer, Will D'Andrea, if he would research the matter.

D'Andrea returned to the committee this month with state statute 60 ILCS 1/85-50, which addresses townships and the demolition, repair or enclosure of buildings.

Part (a) of the law basically says that a township board may request the county board to begin proceedings on a property that is inside the township but outside the territory of any municipality. Which committee members determined essentially means, not within a municipality's boundaries, but in the county.

Part (a) concludes by saying that "if the county board declines the request," the township may pursue action on its own to resolve the situation.

Then, under part (b) it states that a township board may take action on dangerous and unsafe buildings, or uncompleted and abandoned buildings, and it goes on for three pages defining how the township should proceed.

It was interpreted that step (b) allows a township board to skip step (a) in asking the county for help.

This provision also allows for the removal of garbage, debris and other hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or materials.

The first step the county or township would take would be to apply for an order from the circuit court. Then there is a long list of legal processes to follow, which starts with notifying owners and any lien holders.

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Committee member and finance chair Chuck Ruben observed that the costs associated with doing this would be just like what the city of Lincoln has discussed often and recently. The county or the township pursuing the action would face financial risks with potentially mounting costs for legal fees and processes, as well as the action taken to remedy the problems on the property. And when finished, the property owner might pay costs and regain clear ownership of the property, or not; and then there would be a need for further legal costs pressing a lien foreclosure.

Speaking for the county, D'Andrea said, "Since we don't have building codes, there is no way we could require someone to take down a building like that."

Board chairman Bob Farmer asked D'Andrea if he would be the person to decide if a building was unsafe.

D'Andrea said that he didn't know. That would be a question for an attorney. He said that when he read the statute he wondered, "Who decides what's hazardous, or noxious, or unsafe?" He could find no definitions for those conditions.

Duncan and Blake were not present at this month's meeting. Hepler asked D'Andrea to contact them with his findings and suggest that they contact their township. He also offered that the township might approach the county board if they want to pursue this.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]

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