CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston City Council unanimously passed a measure at its meeting Monday to speed up the removal process of unsafe and unsanitary structures within city limits.
The bill would allow the city to obtain administrative warrants from the municipal court or Kanawha County Magistrate Court to search buildings that have been problematic to residents and law enforcement. Five days after a homeowner is notified, city officials will b allowed to enter the structure to determine whether it is detrimental to the city and neighborhood’s health.
According to the ordinance, an unsafe structure would include one where any portion of it is likely to collapse, is not anchored properly or could serve as an attractive harbor for criminals.
Charleston City Councilman Jack Harrison said the process to destroy questionable buildings will speed up from up to one year to three months, noting the city cannot tear down any structure it desires.
“There’s got to be a track record built on this,” he said. “We need to first get in it to see if it’s up to snuff with our building codes, and if it isn’t, we have a legitimate record built to bring that building down.”
Harrison added the city has a list of structures the city would like to tear down, noting each one has to be searched before any action is made.
The ordinance’s passage comes after the introduction of two bills aimed at addressing the city’s homeless and criminal vagrant populations.