A November 14th court hearing is scheduled in the case of a West Juneau home that’s been condemned and closed to human occupancy.
Neighbors of the home at 3101 Nowell Avenue say the home has been a health and safety hazard for nearly two decades. Decaying food and household items have attracted bears and vermin. Junk is scattered throughout the yard. Water and snow have leaked inside through a failing roof, and the structure itself has been declared unsafe.
City and Borough of Juneau attorneys on September 7th filed for an injunction. They want to prohibit the homeowner Ronald Hohman from ever occupying or using his property again, even for repairs.
They also want court permission to go in and clean-up all of the junk and debris in the yard and the house’s interior before the winter snowfall. That includes the raw sewage that is believed to still remain in the garage after a CBJ public works crew mistaken severed the wrong sewer line last winter.
CBJ attorney Amy Mead says a southside section of the house is in danger of collapsing onto a neighbor’s property. They may also try – as part of the court order – to remove that portion of the structure.
The complaint follows a long-awaited second report on the structural integrity of the home that was turned into the CBJ in early September.
Some of the home’s entrances have been boarded up, red tape has been strung around portions of the structure, and a notice has been posted on the garage door stating that’s unlawful to be on the property.
The filing for injunctive relief prompted these comments from neighbor Dave Spargo during a recent Assembly meeting. Speaking on behalf of Nowell and Foster Avenue residents, he thanked Assemblymembers and CBJ staff for their recent action and urged them to follow through.
When contacted at his property on September 21st, Ronald Hohman said he had no comment yet. He had yet to meet with his attorney on the latest filing.
