Tackling the Town Eyesores

A seldom-used town bylaw regulating the security and maintenance of vacant and dilapidated buildings could help Saugus remove years of blight

By Mark E. Vogler

That rundown two-story red building distinguished by red boxes containing red Xs and plastered with graffiti located on Route 1 South just before the Main Street exit heading toward Wakefield looks like something you might see in a poor part of Eastern Kentucky. The dilapidated structure at 1181 Broadway, which once housed Karla’s Shoes, has been an elusive eyesore going back to the 1990s – a major embarrassment that has left Saugus town officials feeling frustrated and helpless to deal with for years. But a petition drive initiated by residents in a Precinct 7 neighborhood calling on the town to enforce a seldom-used bylaw (Section 516.00) to clean up a vacant and dilapidated house has sparked a wider discussion of eliminating other eyesore properties across Saugus – particularly the old Karla’s Shoes building.

Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian, who assisted in crafting the petition for residents in the Susan Driver neighborhood, briefed selectmen at their March 24 meeting on the history of bylaw 516.00, which regulates the security and maintenance of vacant and dilapidated buildings. At the end of his presentation, Manoogian told selectmen “there are a number of abandoned properties” throughout town, while citing Karla’s Shoes as the one “We all hear about.”

“All of these properties should be registered so the town has a handle on what’s happening with issues such as public safety,” Manoogian said.

In an interview this week, Manoogian told The Saugus Advocate that he believes that bylaw 516.00 empowers the town to address the abandoned house on Susan Drive as well as the decades-old saga of Karla’s Shoes. “The tools are definitely in place,” Manoogian said, referring to bylaw 516.00. “In fact there was one [an abandoned property] in Precinct 10 a number of years ago on Wendell Street.”

“That property was torn down and a beautiful new home was built improving the neighborhood,” he said.

At the March 24 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Anthony Cogliano followed up on Manoogian’s recommendation to do a complete inventory of abandoned properties in town. Cogliano asked Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree to get an update on all of the properties in Saugus where the Fire Department placed Xs on the buildings, referring to what Manoogian brought up. “There was one up near the old Donatello’s. There’s another property at the top of Atlantic Avenue that we’ve all looked at before, that’s still sitting there. There’s a brand-new house sitting right next to it,” Cogliano said. “It would be nice to get an update to see if we can take these properties down or what we can do with them. We also have the property on Biscayne Avenue that we took by tax title years ago.”

Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta, who has been calling for the town to do something about the Karla’s Shoes building for years, seemed encouraged by the testimony. “And with what was mentioned earlier, I’d love to tear down Karla’s Shoes,” Panetta said after listening to Cogliano’s remarks.

“Absolutely,” Cogliano chimed in.

Panetta reminded her colleagues that the Karla’s Shoes building remains “a safety hazard.” She had broached the idea of using bylaw 516.00 to fine the owner of the building more than a year ago.

The petition initiated by residents in the Susan Drive neighborhood may prompt the town to take those measures. Paul Mooney, who lives at 24 Susan Drive – across the street from a vacant and deteriorated house at 31 Susan Drive – presented selectmen at their March 24 meeting with copies of a petition signed by 22 people in the neighborhood. Precinct 7 Town Meeting members Phillip T. Gil and Stephen F. McCarthy, who are Susan Drive residents, both signed the petition addressed to Building Commissioner Michael LaVecchia of the Inspectional Services Department and Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli. The petition called on LaVecchia to enforce bylaw 516.00, which governs vacant and dilapidated buildings, and asked Chief Ricciardelli to enforce 701.06, which relates to vandalism and defacement of public and private property, especially graffiti.

“For nearly four years this vacant and dilapidated property has been a blight and eyesore on the neighborhood of Susan Drive,” stated the petition dated Jan. 19.

“We believe that both bylaws are not being observed and/or enforced. The property is not registered with the Inspectional Services Department and there is graffiti on the property visible from the public way,” it continued.

At last month’s meeting, Mooney noted that the petition and ongoing discussions with town officials have resolved some of the issues. The graffiti has been removed from 31 Susan Drive. And police also had a motor vehicle blocking the sidewalk removed. “But the core problem remains,” Mooney said in a statement he read to selectmen last month.

“The house has been vacant since the 2022 fire, and neighbors continue to report trash, unsecured windows, pest activity and general sanitary concerns. The unkept grounds are affecting the appearance of the street and raising concerns about impacts on surrounding property values, as well as the health, safety and quality of life of nearby homes,” he said.

In addition, Mooney told selectmen that a broken trampoline in the backyard poses a potential safety risk to kids who might come into the yard to play on it.

All five board members expressed support for the residents who signed the petition.

Selectman Jeff Cicolini expressed concerns about the house remaining vacant since a Halloween fire back in 2022. “Four years is unacceptable and something needs to be done,” he said.

Selectman Michael Serino said he and Board of Selectmen Chair Panetta had met with Mooney to discuss the situation in mid-January and asked the town manager to do whatever he could to help residents.

In an interview this week, Manoogian said that he was approached by Mooney, who knew of his involvement in town government and requested some advice on what could be done. “I helped draft a petition that he could circulate to his neighbors asking the town to implement both the graffiti bylaw, which is enforced by the police, and the abandoned structure bylaw, which is enforced by IS [Inspectional Services],” Manoogian said.

“Both the police and the IS department reached out to the owner, who immediately took care of the graffiti and an abandoned vehicle on the sidewalk. The IS department relied on the owners’ claim that the house would be sold on March 30th. The house has not sold due to a title issue, I am told,” he said. “I fully support the approach of both the police and the IS department to work with people to resolve a matter. I have provided IS with a form that is used in another community to implement bylaw 516.00.”

We have a number of abandoned properties in Saugus, including the most notorious one, Karla’s Shoes on Route 1,” he said. “I do believe our public safety department and IS department will follow through on these matters, as both the selectmen and town manager are now aware of the concern.”

Manoogian credited the late Janet Leuci, a Town Meeting member, with putting together Article 36, which the Annual Town Meeting passed on June 11, 2012. He said the article evolved from two vacant properties – one on Vincent Street and the other on High Street. The language of the article and its provisions are similar to bylaws passed by other communities, including Lynn.

“The steps that are there are reasonable for the property owner. First they have to register the property. They have to pay the initial fee,” Manoogian said.

“And by implementing the bylaw, you incentivize the property owner to do something about it. Or the town comes back a second time. It allows for communication. It’s really about public safety,” he said.

Manoogian pointed out several abandoned properties that should be registered, including one on Essex Street, another one “up by Oye’s – a little white building that gets graffitied all the time” and another on the corner of Spencer and Ballard Streets.

“While it’s a good bylaw, I recognize that the Inspectional Services has a lot going on,” Manoogian said. “Hopefully, with Mr. Mooney’s impetus tonight, this will result in some positive actions,” Manoogian told selectmen at their March 24 meeting.

“Nobody wants to be punitive to people who have fallen on hard times. But the neighbors have a right to quiet enjoyment of their property without having a nuisance,” he said.

Owners of Saugus properties determined to be vacant and dilapidated by the town’s Department of Inspectional Services can pay registration fees ranging from $250 to $1,000. Owners of properties who fail to register with the Department of Inspectional Services initially or fail to maintain properties in accordance with the bylaw can face fines of up to $300 for each month that the properties are improperly maintained.