Board of Health addresses homeowners over violations

By Barbara Taormina

The Board of Health issued a partial condemnation order for 70 Highland St. at their recent meeting late last month. Anthony Branco, outside counsel for the city’s Inspectional Services Department, read a list of violations to the board, which included two unpermitted and illegal basement units and two unpermitted units on the third floor.

It was not an adversarial process. Both Branco and Inspectional Services Director Michael Wells told the board that the property owners, an elderly couple in their eighties, had been cooperative during inspections and they accepted the city’s decisions on the property. The owners were represented by their nephew, a building contractor, who said they wanted to make changes and bring the building into compliance with city regulations and provide safe housing. They have relocated their tenants who were living in the illegal units and returned the basement to storage space. The owners are now working with the city to correct any problems and violations.

The board, which last fall condemned the Water’s Edge apartment building on Ocean Avenue, leaving 41 tenants homeless, said they regretted the order but had no choice.

“It’s great that the family will make the necessary changes but we have to set a precedent,” said board Chairman Drew Bunker. “We have to condemn the four illegal units to prevent them from occurring in the future.”

It was stressed that the board was issuing a partial condemnation for the illegal units and not for the entire building. Board members were glad to learn that tenants in units on the first and second floors could remain in their homes while owners work with city officials to bring the building up to code. The city has records of those units being permitted and inspected.

“They do not want any problems,” the owners’ representative told the board. “They just want a safe home.”