Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton This home, located at 17 Conewango Ave., was ravaged by fire last August. City officials have filed citations against the owner for failure to demolish or repair the structure.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton
This is all that remains of the building at 20 Conewango Ave. It started to crumble a couple years ago and the City of Warren filed citations with the district magistrate for violations.

The citations were filed by the city’s code enforcement wing through District Justice Glenn Carlson’s office against both Thomas S. Shorebird, owner of 17 Conewango Ave., and Carl L. Devlieger, owner of 20 Conewango Ave.

17 Conewango Avenue was one of two residences in the City of Warren that burned on the same day last August.

City officials said later that week that an electrical issue caused the fire and that the home had been released back to the owner.

“Immediately after the fire Mr. Shorebird was issued a notice of violation,” said Code Official Jessica Roudybush, who filed the citations.

She explained that the notice required Shorebird “to demolish or repair the structure and he has failed to comply, even after I granted an extension of time for him to do so.”

Two citations were filed against him – one for dangerous structure/premises and another for demolition.

The Devlieger property at 20 Conewango Ave. has been a thorn in the city’s side for some time.

Roudybush said that Devlieger “entered into an agreement with the city to demolish a portion of the unsafe structure and to rehabilitate the remaining building that is currently left standing.”

The building used to be utilized for furniture storage. It began crumbling in February 2015.

“A construction schedule, which was agreed upon by both Mr. Devlieger and the City, was drafted as part of that agreement,” Roudybush explained. “Mr. DeVileger has not complied with the construction schedule, which in turn makes him in violation of the overall agreement.”

Roudybush said that a notice of violation was sent last December and included “exterior walls (holes, breaks, loose and rotting materials, not weatherproof), lack of appropriate protective treatment on exterior of structure (needed to maintain the building weather resistant and water tight), lack of appropriate roof covering, and unsafe structure (risk of collapse due to lack of permanent roof with inadequate snow load and deteriorated exterior walls that could be further corroded by the elements and the freeze/thaw cycle).”

Citations in each of those areas were filed “after Mr. Devlieger failed to comply with the time given to make the necessary repairs in the time specified in the notice of violation letter.”