On Tuesday night, Bloomington’s board of public works denied the appeal by Joe Davis for a citation by the city—for what the city staff considers to be violations of the health and sanitation parts of city code (Title 6) at his South Washington Street property.
In a separate action, the three-member board granted the request from the city’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department for a continuous abatement of Davis’s property. That means that the city can come onto the property and put it into a condition that the city believes is compliant with local code.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Davis told The B Square that he intends to challenge the board’s decisions in the Monroe County circuit court.
Davis has experience with that kind of legal challenge. He represented himself in connection with a previous abatement order, which the city started to enforce in the second week of August. For that order, Davis did not prevail in his court action, but did run out the clock on the city’s abatement order, which expired on Aug. 11.
This week’s action by the board of public works follows last week’s decision by the city’s board of zoning appeals (BZA), to deny Davis’s appeal of a different citation—for backyard parking and storage (Title 20).
Davis told The B Square he will also challenge the BZA’s decision in circuit court.
On Davis’s property various materials and artifacts are visible, which the city concludes are a violation of local code. B Square photographs of the property are included below.
Continue reading “Again denied: Bloomington BPW rejects resident’s appeal of citation, OKs cleanup order”
