City council reminds Greenfield property owners of requests

After the tornado, Greenfield City Council asked property owners to keep their lots cleaned up once cleanup happened. Most people have followed that request, a few have not.

The council talked at their Tuesday, Oct. 22 meeting, almost exactly five months after the tornado, about what to do with tornado-damaged properties that have not been mowed regularly or have not even been cleared of debris. Normally, according to the city’s nuisance ordinance, properties not mowed are mowed at the property owner’s expense or it goes against their taxes.

There are only four or five lots in question, city leaders said.

Greenfield Chamber Main Street Director Stacie Eshelman said communication could go out from the Greater Greenfield Community Foundation warning those who have not cleaned up their property that they could receive nuisance notices beginning on a certain date if action is not taken.

Similarly to the reminders the city publishes about the mowing or snow parking ordinances, Eshelman thought publishing a reminder to property owners about this matter would be a courtesy to them.

Early on in the disaster, the city council defined lots to be built upon and lots to not be rebuilt upon:

• Lots to not be rebuilt upon: Basement floor needs to be out, sewer needs to be capped and inspected, the hole needs to be filled with clean soil, no debris left on lot

• Lots to be rebuilt upon: Owner is to put up orange fence around open hole, owner is to have a building permit on file at city hall, owner is to start rebuild within six months, owner is to show proof of liability insurance

All or most of the properties in question are owned by property owners who no longer live in Greenfield.

Public Works Manager Brian Hoadley said he thought two of the property owners of affected properties were planning to rebuild and one left town when they found out they had to get a variance.