The city of Warsaw has taken a property owner and a tenant to court to force the cleanup of a residence on Ind. 15S just south of Warsaw Community High School.
The move is relatively rare, but came after a lack of cooperation on the part of both men.
On Tuesday, Superior Court I Judge David Cates issued a permanent injunction demanding the property be cleaned up within three weeks.
The property is owned by Brad Eberly and the tenant is Leyon Gilliam, according to Dana Hewitt, code enforcement officer.
The city began addressing the issue at 1627 Fisher Ave. (Ind. 15S) in January 2017.
In recent months, the front yard has been crowded with organized piles that look as if it could be a yard sale.
This morning, the amount of stuff – including some appliances – appeared to be smaller.
The city considers the conditions to be a nuisance and violation of city code.
The city has held several code enforcement hearings on the case and neither men have attended.
Hearing officer Tom Earhart decided earlier this year to send the case to court after both men refused to cooperate.
The landlord said the problem was the tenant’s. The tenant has said he would not clean it up until issues inside the house are addressed by the landlord.
Hewitt said Gilliam appeared in court, but Eberly did not.
If the property is not cleaned up in three weeks, both men could be held in contempt and face court action.
“It wasn’t discussed at the time what could happen,” Hewitt said.
He said the case is the first to reach court during his two years with code enforcement.
The case was mentioned at a separate code enforcement hearing held Tuesday at city hall.
In other cases heard by Earhart at the code enforcement hearing:
• The property owners at 1015 E. Main St. were given two more weeks to clean up items in their yard. The city has been working with the owners for at least about two months.
The owners, Jason and Bobby Wade, were informed they face fines of $100 per day for every day beyond the two-week period until the “mess” is cleaned up, Earhart said.
An update is expected at the next hearing on Sept. 18.
• The owners of a dilapidated car wash at 2516 E. Center St. have informed the city that they are close to beginning demolition of the buildings.
A tall business sign has already been removed. The city mandated demolition earlier this year, but the owners have since begun efforts to do it themselves, according to Ray Behling, building commissioner.
