Lansing's red-tag list includes 90 homes that have been unlivable for a decade or more

LANSING — The 10 homes have boarded-up windows. Many are deteriorating. All have weathered tags, attached by city workers, once red, indicating they are unsafe.

Most of the largely two-story residences show clear signs of age and disrepair. A few show signs of remodeling work. How recently is anyone's guess.

They share something else in common. They've been on the city's list of homes too unsafe to be occupied for as long as 20 years. The most recent was tagged in former President Barack Obama's first term. The oldest tag was stuck on the home when George W. Bush was midway through his first term and leading the country through the aftermath of 9/11.

The homes are among 663 red-tagged properties in Lansing, as of June 1, according to Director of Economic Development and Planning Jordan Hankwitz. Homes are on the list for an average of just less than three years — or 34.8 months — he said.

A State Journal analysis of the city's data shows many residences are on the list much longer, despite a $150 monthly fee owners must pay for not making repairs after 90 days on the list.

The oldest property on the list, 123 Isbell St. in the REO Town neighborhood, was declared unsafe on Oct. 31, 2003. The list also includes 19 homes or apartments that have been on the list for a decade or more and 92 tagged as unlivable for more than five years.

City officials said several factors are contributing to the backlog, which City Council members have described as a crisis. Among those: Monthly penalties that are too low to incentivize landlords or owners to fix the properties and get them off list; cost increases for building supplies fueled by the pandemic; and the city's reluctance to use its Make Safe or Demolish program to remove residences in perpetual disrepair, taking what a spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor said is a more holistic approach.

The City Council in recent months has become more involved in the issue, holding a four-hour emergency meeting on April 3 after residents in a south Lansing property were forced out due to dangerous or unsafe conditions. While City Council President Carol Wood said during the meeting that "all of us are culpable," councilmembers have requested frequent updates from city officials as they want the list pared down.

Few building permits pulled

A man and a woman were seen Monday walking in and out of the home at 123 Isbell St.

The man, who declined to give his name to a State Journal reporter, said he's owned the home for 40 years. When asked about what was going on at the property, he said "I'm working on it," and added he's aware the property is red-tagged.

Property tax records show Daniel and Mary Backus own the property. No permits have been pulled for the property, according to the city's online permit system.

Staff from Lansing-based JYA Construction LLC were installing drywall at 831 N. Chestnut St., which has been on the list since 2008. Jose Aguilar-Ramirez, who owns JYA Construction, confirmed his company was there but said he doesn't know when the property will be up to code. He added the owner lives in Florida but a local supervisor has checked on the property.

On Monday, a dumpster on the side of the home had debris in it. The property's siding appeared to have been recently replaced yet the porch was crumbling.

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Of the 10 oldest properties, 603 Shepard St. is the only one with an open building permit, but it's on hold for lack of payment, Bean said. The property had a similarly colored partially-finished addition and updated siding as of Monday. The corner property is next to a formerly red-tagged home that had a dumpster filled with debris and a screened-in porch with torn screens.

The city's red tag program drew criticism from City Council earlier this year when officials red-tagged all 29 apartments at Holmes Apartments, LLC and forced the residents of about 15 households out of their units. Simtob Management & Investment LLC, which operates a number of complexes in the city, proposed moving residents to other properties owned by the company, including an apartment building at 1317 E. Kalamazoo St. However, that property lacked a valid rental certificate and had been tagged as such by the city.

The city opted to pay for hotel rooms for residents and sued Simtob. The city and Simtob entered into a settlement agreement earlier this month in which it agrees to fix all 21 properties it owns in the city and pay the city $10,091 for the cost of hotel rooms. The city agreed to reinspect all of Simtob's properties and issued compliance certificates "in good faith."

Penalties don't match current needs

Hankwitz said the biggest issue isn't the more than 600 properties on the list, but how long they stay on the list and the $150 per month penalty fee that he described as too low.

Property owners opt to pay the fee instead of bringing the residences up to code, he said. The department has sent out a Request for Proposal for a company to review how fines could be restructured to fit modern needs.

"When we're charging them $150 a month to keep that on the red tag list, the individual is finding that that's not too expensive of a two-story storage unit, right? Why wouldn't they pay it?" he asked.

More: Lansing has red-tagged more than 600 homes. Here's how the process works

Hankwitz said people he described as perennial permit pullers — those who pull permits, let them expire and then immediately pull another permit — have contributed to properties languishing on the red tag list. Hankwitz declined to identify any of those owners when asked by City Council members earlier this month.

Hankwitz's deputy, Nicholas Montry, suggested the cost of labor and supplies are inflated due to the lasting effects of the pandemic.

"So some of these homeowners or landlords that do own properties, that $150 a month is a lot less than paying for something that four or five years ago, might've cost you $2,000 to $3,000, now costs $7,000 to $10,000," Montry said.

The city is running into issues itself with plywood being 350% more expensive since the pandemic hit, Montry added.

Demolition 'a big step'

The city has ordinances that allow it to declare to an owner to make a home safe or the city will demolish it. Properties are considered for the program if they have been red-tagged and repairs have not yet been made, and the city determines the structure too dangerous to leave standing.

Bean said in an email Thursday that property owners are sent an invoice for the demolition plus a $4,000 administrative fee. If the fee isn't paid, it's added to the property's tax bill.

There are rare scenarios where a lot cannot be used as a residential property, he added, but most can be rebuilt on.

Of the oldest 19 red-tagged properties, only one is in the make safe or demolish process — 1722 Donora St. The property was added on Jan. 12. Lansing's demolition board sent a notice to the owner, listed as 1309 Vermont Ave LLC, mandating they repair or tear down the home by April 23. That wasn't done nor did anyone speak at the show cause hearing Monday during a City Council meeting to keep the structure in the owner's hands. The property is back for review for further action.

Schor doesn't take demolition lightly and is appreciative of the long process, Bean said.

"Government seizing someone's private property to demolish it is a big step," he said. "So it should be a long process. The government can't just come in and tear down your house without a process."

The city demolished 5017 Hughes Road in April, which was previously red-tagged, and is working to address 1722 Donora St. and 318 Clifford St., according to City Council documents. The Hughes property had been red-tagged since 2011; the Donora property has been tagged since 2006; the Clifford property has been tagged since 2011, according to city records.

"Make Safe or Demolish is one tool in the City’s toolbox," Bean wrote. "It is crucial for the City to balance the need for public safety, code compliance, and community well-being with the rights and concerns of property owners. Our hope is compliance, and the City may prioritize efforts to work with property owners to address the violations and bring the properties up to code while preserving the housing units. However, we are continually evaluating the use of Make Safe or Demolish."

First Ward Councilmember Ryan Kost said the Clifford Street property, which is in his ward, has been tagged since 2011 and neighbors called it a nuisance.

"It was stripped out several years ago of all the pipes, electrical and all of that stuff, so it's down to the studs. There's nothing left in there," he said.

That creates a new problem as it makes repairing the homes a costly venture, he said.

Kost said he hoped to speed the process up in removing the oldest properties off Lansing 663 red-tagged property list.

He hoped to address the oldest properties first and move up through the list. He said council is constantly asking code enforcement if more resources are needed, what recourse the city has with its attorneys and whether Lansing police are enforcing the city's ordinances.

"As we clear them off our list, we're going to start with the next chunk and we're going to keep going and we're going to keep pressing and pushing until everything is — I don't want to say that the list will ever be zero, it won't," Kost said. "But we can clear out all of this from 2016, 2017, '18, '19 — nearly half of these red tags are that old."

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Some homes land on Lansing's red tag list for decade or more