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Posted on Mon, Jun 20, 2011 : 5:55 a.m.

Ypsilanti Township case against Liberty Square owners adjourned until judge can visit troubled complex

By Tom Perkins

Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Donald Shelton adjourned an evidentiary hearing last in the opening day of a case between Ypsilanti Township and the Liberty Square townhouse complex’s property owners. The case will resume at an unspecified date after Shelton has a chance to visit the complex.

Ypsilanti Township is asking Shelton to declare Liberty Square a public nuisance and order its demolition. The township named all 45 remaining owners and the homeowner’s association as defendants in a verified petition filed in December.

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The case is complex because of Liberty Square’s ownership arrangement and for the many problems township attorneys allege plague the buildings.

The suit follows a year that brought significant changes in ownership at the 151-unit complex and saw rapid physical deterioration of the properties. Each building in the complex off South Grove Road has 10 to 12 units, and the township posted notice of violations citing entire buildings instead of specific addresses.

Attorneys for the homeowners contend the township’s notices aren’t specific enough because they don’t list problems at each individual address. Township officials say the entire buildings are irreparable and dangerous, and fixing up a few individual properties won't bring the buildings up to code

The township states in the petition that Liberty Square's articles of incorporation require each owner's mandatory membership in the complex’s homeowners' association. That means each defendant is responsible “for maintenance of the common areas, building exteriors, including roofs of the townhome subdivision and is not only responsible for his/her own individual unit."

Piles of garbage litter the complex and vacant townhomes officials previously boarded up are broken into regularly, costing more money to re-secure, the verified petition says. The township also charged much of the masonry, siding, windows, soffits, trim, exterior stairways, decks, porches, balconies, sidewalks and roofs are in disrepair.

The petition alleges that the vacant properties “constitute an invitation to criminals, squatters and pose an attractive nuisance to children.”

Most of the vacant townhomes have been stripped of all scrap metal. The verified petition says remaining residents face a number of dangers posed by the vacant units. Among those listed are mold, fire, lack of sewer service, improper electrical wiring and the possibility of squatters living in the abandoned units.

Township attorneys allege the defendants do not have the financial means to bring the complex up to code. A study by the Washtenaw County Office of Community Development estimated rehabilitating the foreclosed units would cost $75,000 to $80,000 each. The assessed value of the individual properties ranges from $3,000 to $8,000.

Don Darnell, a lawyer for the homeowners' association and other owners, previously disputed that and said most of the issues at the complex are minor. He filed a counter complaint, and he believes his clients' Fifth and 14th Amendment rights have been violated.

Residents still living there have made improvements to their homes’ exteriors over the last year, and argue they shouldn’t be forced to leave because of their neighbors' homes.

Many of the units also went through tax foreclosure and others are scheduled to head to tax foreclosure auction later this year.

Township attorney Dennis McLain said he is pleased Shelton is visiting the complex because of the situation’s magnitude.

“The judge wants to make sure he has a grasp of what it is the township is trying to prove, and, in all fairness to the defendants, to make sure they have their day in court, so to speak.”

Comments

Ypsi Foolish

Tue, Jun 21, 2011 : 4:19 p.m.

one thing i cannot stand is the people who judge people in low income housing like they're so much better than us. Did u ever think that giant house you own on the soutside or in sugar brook is an eye-sore to US?? Let one of you Ann Arbor/high class Ypsi snobs lose your job and your house and when you have to move into a place like that, best believe your richy friends will become non-existent.

Bogie

Mon, Jun 20, 2011 : 6:59 p.m.

It is time for that eye sore to go. There is plenty of housing in ypsi, so please judge-bring the dozers with you.

Ben Petiprin

Mon, Jun 20, 2011 : 5:20 p.m.

Ypsi seems to be making a habit of forcing people out of their homes. When did stabilizing property values trump someone else's right to live.

obviouscomment

Mon, Jun 20, 2011 : 4:08 p.m.

Unfortunately this is one of the downsides of buying into a community where things are controlled by an association. Associations are helpful in many ways, but sometimes in situations like this, and when the homeowners are unaware of all of the conditions of the contracts, the homeowners lose. It is unfortunate that the homeowners are in this situation, but the property truly is a public nuisance and it should have been demolished years ago. I'd be happy to see it go and have something more useful and less trashy in it's place.

no flamers!

Mon, Jun 20, 2011 : 12:37 p.m.

While I applaud the Township for being assertive, it is disappointing that the judge has delayed this proceeding. It is a 15-minute drive from the judge's courthouse to the site--let's not make this unduly complicated. Delayed justice is sometimes denied justice. Every day that is wasted before the bulldozers arrive is a day that the community suffers from this 3rd World blight and another day that risks more crime.