ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the demolition of three dilapidated houses.
Planning director Tracy Parris presented the demolition ordinances for the houses, all in East Rockingham — two on Safie 5th Street and one on Luther Street.
Both the houses on Safie 5th Street had sustained fire damage and the roof was collapsing on the Luther Street dwelling.
“We’ve had several issues with grass overgrowth and debris,” Parris said about the house at 158 Safie 5th Street, showing photos of the property and pointing out a tree that had fallen onto the house.
Parris said there had been no communication from the property owner and that it was in foreclosure status.
The house across the street at 159 Safie 5th burned in June, according to Parris, who added that the owner is deceased and that property is also in foreclosure.
As for the house on 105 Luther Street, Parris said the floor is caving in.
The process for this house started in October 2024, according to Parris, who said the owners applied for a permit to repair the roof, but there has been no response since — and taxes have not been paid in two years.
Commissioner Jamie Gathings asked what happens to the property once the houses are demolished.
“It is still in that property owner’s name up until the point it goes into foreclosure status, where we sell it at the courthouse steps,” Parris said. “But they still have that property … there’s just back taxes owed on them and anything where we demolish the house or clean up the house, all of those are assessed back on their tax bills.”
Each ordinance details the process the county went through before getting to the point of demolition.
Parris said that the houses could be used for fire training if deemed acceptable.
Commissioner Andy Grooms said he has fielded multiple calls from county residents regarding yards that have been turned “basically into a dump.”
“I’m not talking about cars and stuff, I’m talking about actual(ly) putting trash outside and it just piles up forever,” Grooms said. “I know that there’s steps that we go through to try to alleviate some of that.
“Is there anything we can do to put a little more meat on the bone to try to get some of this taken care of?” he asked, “‘cause it’s becoming a reocurring thing with people approaching me about it in certain areas.”
“A lot of these homes are vacant and we have squatters in them,” Parris said, adding that there are also other issues including property owners not paying attention to letters and non-resident owners.
Prior to the demolition ordinances, the board approved a resolution to extend the tax listing period from Jan. 31-April 15.
