ROCKINGHAM — The city will have to foot the bill to demolish another dilapidated dwelling.
The City Council on Tuesday approved the first demolition ordinance of the year for a brick house at 118 Barrett Street.
John Massey, city planner and assistant city manager, told council members in a memo that minimum housing proceedings began on the property in October of 2019.
Property owners James and Angela Carpenter were notified of a hearing with the code enforcement officer via a posting on the property, certified mail and a legal notice in the local print newspaper, he said.
But no one showed.
Another notice was sent after the code enforcement officer directed the property owners to either repair or demolish the house by Feb. 11.
To date, the city has had no contact with the owners, according to Massey.
He added that the house has seen “transient traffic.”
The City Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.
According to the ordinance, the cost of the demolition will result in a lien against the property.
Massey said three similar issues have recently been resolved without the city being forced to take action: one by a building permit; one by a demolition permit; and the other by the owner selling the property.
He said he prefers those outcomes because it saves the city money.
Massey said the average cost of tearing a house down is around $6,000 — although it has been as much as $13,000.
The council approved at least two back-to-back demolition ordinances last summer.
The only other items on the agenda were the annual reports for the police and fire departments, which will be covered later.
