Hearing set for dilapidated house

Hearing set for dilapidated house

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A public hearing to determine what to do about a dilapidated house in the Historic District on the corner of Holland and Jefferson that’s been an issue for decades has been set for Sept. 1 by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.

Aldermen set the hearing for 5 p.m. Mayor James Young said the owners will be officially notified by mail and the board will consider demolishing the house.

The house has long been an eyesore to the neighborhood. It has been discussed several times in previous board meetings. It was reported the roof of the house was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and continued exposure over the years has rendered it beyond repair.

The house in question belongs to Jack Land, whose family members say can no longer take care of the property because of failing health.

 Mayor James A. Young said letters have been sent in the past and discussions have been had over the years with Land and his family members. It was noted that Mr. Land had made efforts to clean the property but not in the past four or five years.

Members of the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Commission were present at the board’s meeting last Tuesday to demand action.

Former state Sen. Gloria Williamson questioned why it has taken so long get something done.

“How long has this been going on?” Williamson said. “Why do we have to wait and keeping putting it off. How much longer are we going to have to put up with this in a historical district?”

Williamson was informed that it would take three weeks to run the notice of public hearing in the paper.

“That’s putting it into motion,” Young said.

Williamson asked what could be done tonight, pointing out the house has been a problem since 2005. She was told the city must follow its procedures or face possible legal liability.

 “My great great-grandparents built that house and it hurts me to the core to see it falling down,” Williamson said. “It is too far gone to be saved. It needs to be demolished, the lot cleaned up, and sold to someone who will build a historical replica house there. I think you are protected legally because he has been in violation of the ordinance for years.”

The house is alderman Joe Tullos’ district who addressed the matter.

“I want you to come up here with that zeal the first Tuesday in September, not tonight,” Tullos said. “We will deal with it then.”

As the conversation continued back and forth, the owner’s son, Brad Land, walked in to appear before the board.

Alderman Tullos spoke to Brad Land  and informed him about the upcoming hearing.

“You know I don’t own the property,” Land said, adding that his father has been in the hospital for four months.

“Here’s the deal,” Tullos said. “The people down there for 15 years have been putting up with something that they don’t need to be putting up with. The procedure that we use, we are going to follow it. You are being notified right now that someone needs to answer in for (your father).

“We are going to follow the ordinance with that piece of property and bring it into (compliance). It’s not now.”

Tullos asked if Land understood about the hearing and he said he did.

“If you want to bring it to specs, you will have that opportunity,” Tullos said. “If not, it will be removed.”

Land asked if they wanted to know why the house is in the shape it is?

“The roof has five layers on it,” Land said, “No one in Mississippi will touch that roof because of the incline that it has, and the state of disrepair that it is in.

“A man said he would put tin on it until I could find someone to repair it. Someone in the historical society said we could not put tin on it,” Land said. “I said it was just to keep it from rotting down until we could do something. She said no, and that’s the reason it is in the state it is in and that puts it in yall’s ballpark.”

He was advised he could speak to this at the hearing.

“I would love for anybody who has fussed about it, to make it look like crap,” Land said. “And I could do it. But I can’t do it because no one will work on it.”

Williamson said after the meeting, she had tried in the past to present Land with different options but that he took no action.

The discussion was ended and the meeting proceeded.






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