Resident wants Toledo to address abandoned house filled with tires

Candace Kirchner, of Tracy Street in East Toledo, has complained to the City of Toledo about five abandoned houses in her neighborhood over the years, but not much has changed.

One of the abandoned houses at 121 East Florence Ave. was recently in the news after the Ohio attorney general filed charges against a Toledo couple for illegally transporting and dumping scrap tires in the house.

An investigation had determined that more than 2,000 scrap tires had been hauled from Toledo tire dealers without proper state permits and the couple then dumped the tires in their yard.

“From my backyard deck, I can see all five abandoned houses. Some are boarded up. The one I call Big Mama is full of hundreds of tires,” Mrs. Kirchner said.

The other abandoned houses are eyesores, but Big Mama has nearly 1,000 tires inside.

“We have asked the city for help, but we get nowhere,” she said.

The dilapidated properties are drawing unwelcome visitors, too.

“I saw a raccoon last week about the size of a dog carrying a large rat. It was in broad daylight,” she said.

“We almost moved, it’s so bad.”

The city last week sent out a cleanup crew to clear the yard at the site, but much more needs to be done, she said.

On Wednesday, she showed up at the Frederick Douglass Community Center, where Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz held “Wednesdays with Wade,” which he holds regularly at different locations throughout the city to get input from the public about their concerns.

When Mrs. Kirchner confronted Jim Molnar, director of building and code compliance, he said he would have to look into the property further.

He agreed to talk with her the following day to get more information.

“I can’t give an answer at this point,” he said.

“I’ll have to work with other agencies who were involved to find out what the status is and why nothing has been done,” Mr. Molnar said.

Mrs. Kirchner said she looked forward to talking with Mr. Molnar to get the problem resolved.

After the meeting, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said that many things hold up the demolition of abandoned and dilapidated housing.

“When it comes to state law and the housing court, property rights are a big thing down in Columbus. The state legislature has created a series of laws that are very friendly to the rights of property owners. It causes, in cases like this, for things to take a lot longer than common sense would require. I absolutely agree with her. I understand her frustration. It is ludicrous that this is taking this long,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said.

He is confident the case will be rectified.

“This is definitely on our radar screen. We had a lot of people cleaning up there last week. But it’s time to get this resolved. Nobody should have to live next to it,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said.