TOLEDO, Ohio — An inspection of the Greenbelt Place Apartments on Cherry Street has led to a 72-hour public nuisance order filed by the Toledo Department of Neighborhoods, dated Sept. 22.
According to the letter, the conditions of the property at 800 Cherry St. in north Toledo "are an immediate threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public."
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Tuesday that "there are code violations on the property, but the judge has not yet declared it a public nuisance."
In eight pages of inspection by the city's code enforcement inspector found that the Greenbelt Place Apartments had the violations of:
- Junk, debris, trash and litter on property
- Inoperable/unlicensed vehicle(s) including trailers on property
- Tires on property
- Interior furniture on the exterior of the building
- Repairs or replacement needed for: overhangs, brick sidewalks, doors, windows, railings, steps/stairs, siding, gutters/spouts, fencing
According to Toledo police, officers were dispatched to the complex 127 times between Jan. 1 and Oct. 5 of this year.
READ THE VIOLATION LETTERS HERE:
As outlined in Toledo Municipal Code, the owner/vendee on record of the Greenbelt Place Apartments, 2013 Toledo Cherry Street LLC, with addresses listed in Columbus address and Austin, Texas, is subject to civil fines up to $600 and is ordered to correct the violations listed in the inspection.
If the conditions at the Greenbelt Place Apartments are not fixed within 72 hours of a public nuisance order being declared, the owner may have criminal charges and/or a civil complaint filed against them in Toledo Municipal Court. As of Tuesday, Sept. 28, no charges had been filed. The letter also states that "the public nuisance may be abated or demolished by the City of Toledo at your expense."
The letter stated that the owner had three days from the date of the notice/order to appear in person to request a hearing on the question of whether a nuisance exists. The hearing would be held on the first regularly scheduled Nuisance Abatement Housing Appeals Board meeting following such an in-person request.
Failure to correct the violations may result in criminal charges. The notice also makes it known that if the owner transfers the property to another party if it is declared a public nuisance, the owner could be guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor and would be responsible for all costs incurred by the city for correcting the nuisance conditions.
CONGRESSWOMAN WANTS IMPROVEMENTS MADE
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur previously said she wanted to see improvements made immediately to the Greenbelt Place Apartments in north Toledo.
Kaptur said in a statement:
"On behalf of the residents of Cherrywood, our office has requested an onsite inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to immediately assess serious health and safety concerns at the complex and to put in place an immediate plan for corrective action."
The residents are fed up with the unlivable conditions at the apartments, including pest infestations and violence.
You can see remnants of past violence just walking around the complex, as WTOL 11 saw bullet holes in two separate buildings.
RESIDENTS EXPRESS CONCERNS
There are also no outer doors on the buildings, so anyone can just walk in. That's where residents say the issues begin.
"The pest problems: the bugs, the mice, nothing is getting better, everything is getting worse," a tenant said.
The residents WTOL 11 spoke with said there are bug and rodent infestations in many apartments, and they stay inside at night worried about the amount of violence in the complex.
Their biggest concerns are the number of shootings there, the lack of maintenance in the apartments that they say lead to safety hazards like loose railings, and pest infestations.