Houses from Hell: County DA wants to put the law into action
7:34 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Download:
"I live here. Topeka is my hometown. I love Topeka. Topeka has been good to me."
That's why Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht says he is so passionate about cleaning up houses like one where the porch is caving in and no one has paid property taxes on the home for six years.
Topeka Codes Inspector Don Carey explains the difficulty in getting the home repaired when the owners can't be located.
"I don't know the status of the owners yet. I have heard they're possibly no longer alive," says Carey.
Usually a certified letter is what's delivered to property owners, but District Attorney Robert Hect says there is a way around this process. He says a simple public notification in the Metro News, the official paper of public record, is more than enough notice to the property owner in order to proceed in court.
Photo Gallery
Houses From Hell
Throughout May, 49 Anchor Liz Zamora has been reporting on the problem of urban blight in Topeka. Take a look at this photo gallery to see how bad it is in some areas. These are photos of houses that you, the community, called in to report.
"That gives the court jurisdiction to act on the property," he says.
Hecht also says his office can be very effective in cutting through the lengthy process of demolition. He has offered his help to the Codes Department in getting the houses demolished if they just provide the paperwork and documentation.
"We didn't get much response in that regard," says Hecht.
Mayor Bill Bunten says he would like to work with the District Attorney's office to get tough on negligent landowners. He says it's to, "let them know that we are serious about it and the fines will be great."
Now the district attorney wants to use the information brought about by your phone calls and e-mails to take action against the owners of abandoned properties. Hecht says, "Channel 49's involvement has kind of caused the issue to resurface. It looks like you may be able to provide some of the information."
He will use that information to build his cases for prosecution and in some cases, demolition. In the past, Hecht has used a two-pronged approach by filing criminal nuisance charges and filing a lawsuit against the property owner. He says that's how he was able to get rid of two hotels, a salvage yard and a trailer park in a relatively short period of time.
Houses from Hell
See 49's Houses From Hell series on neighborhood blight in Topeka
- Houses From Hell: One owner struggles with city to keep his house standing (May 6, 2007)
- Houses from Hell: House demolition a long, lengthy process (May 9, 2007)
- Houses from Hell: Problems after the demolition (May 13, 2007)
- Houses from Hell: Neighborhoods look into possible solutions (May 16, 2007)
- Buildings from Hell: Abandoned businesses attract crime and lower property values (May 20, 2007)
- Houses from Hell: County DA wants to put the law into action (May 23, 2007)
- Landlords Association offers to help clean up house from hell (November 27, 2007)
- City Council codes hearing (December 3, 2007)
- "Houses from Hell" series spurs action from the DA (December 18, 2007)
- New look for 615 SW Tyler...neat and tidy (December 19, 2007)
- DA applauds Houses from Hell investigation (December 27, 2007)
- Charges filed after Houses from Hell investigation (December 28, 2007)
"We got the mobile home court demolished in less than a week," says Hecht.
He says these trailers had been allowed to sit for years, rotting from the inside out. And the two motels had been trashed beyond repair before bulldozers took them down.
"No property should be allowed to be abandoned for more than a year," says Hecht.
And Hecht says he is willing to go the distance to clean up the town he has always called home.
"I would like to see come out of this a concerted planned effort on a long-term continuous basis to attack the problem of abandoned houses," he promises.
Here is what a spokesperson for the City had to say about Hecht's proposal: "The City of Topeka is willing to work with anybody that wants to put in the time and effort to try to cleanup the City of Topeka. We welcome any suggestions from District Attorney Robert Hecht concerning this matter."
And the District Attorney's office has agreed to work in conjunction with 49 News to go after the owners of these houses from hell. We will take you through the process to show how your voice will make a difference.
Houses From Hell Locator Map
49 News called in some help from ACORN during our month-long investigation into blighted property in Topeka. Link to a map of properties called in by viewers during two 49 News phone banks with representatives of ACORN.
Comments
Note: ktka.com does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor vouch for the factual claims made therein. Nor do we review every post.
May. 25, 2007 at 10:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)topcity_785 (anonymous)
man where have ya'll been i've been seeing these abandoned buildings for a long time and when live in the ghetto for along time you learn to adapt to it but everybody is now just learning topeka has ghetto's come on and some of them where just crack houses
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)