Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton This Spring St. property was declared blighted by the city’s blight panel during a Thursday morning meeting.

A Spring Street property with a deceased owner has been declared blighted by the city’s review committee.

The Blighted Property Review Committee passed the determination against 1103 Spring St. during a Thursday meeting.

Scott Taylor, the city’s zoning and ordinance enforcement officials, said the property has been “on our radar” and was discovered in response to a complaint regarding unshoveled sidewalks.

Spring Street is north of West Fifth Avenue off of Public Way on the city’s west side.

Taylor told the committee that he had been in contact with the daughter of the owner but that contact ceased after the owner passed away.

“The property has been uncared for for a few years,” he said. “The outside is in extremely rough shape.”

He cited grass and snow violations from 2021 and 2022 and said the property was condemned in February of this year.

The property, he added, has no electric, gas or water service as well as four years of unpaid taxes.

Taylor told the committee that the property “fits many of the criteria” for blight without considering open windows, siding that has fallen off of the house and a foundation that is “separating.”

He added there has been “no abatement” to any of those issues.

The property is up for tax sale next month.

“(I’m) not in fear that the house is going to collapse,” he advised the committee. “I didn’t see any signs of forced entry.”

Committee member Doug Hearn asked about the likely of the property being picked up at tax sale.

“It is going to depend on the person interested,” Taylor said.

“Sometimes in neighborhoods, a neighbor will purchase it simply to abate the blight in their own neighborhood,” Randy Rossey, director of codes and planning for the city,” explained. He said that the likelihood of that, however, is “not good.”

The committee agreed to pass a blight declaration against the property. In making that motion, Committee member Maurice Cashman asked that the city explore cutting the grass.

Taylor said he would work with city Department of Public Works crews to “get that done.”

Rossey said staff would also explore the possibility of additional relatives of the deceased owner.