City seeks court help removing fire-damaged house
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ALPENA ― Three years after a fire destroyed the upper portion of an Alpena home, city officials have asked for court intervention to get the house torn down.
The home on the 200 block of West Lake Street has been vacant since a fire left a gaping hole in the home's roof the day after Christmas, 2018. Smoke and water damage destroyed walls, ceilings, and furniture, the home's residents told The News days after the initial fire.
In March, city officials said the Lake Street house did not constitute a safety hazard because, at the time, inspectors deemed it structurally sound.
On Tuesday, the city's attorney filed a complaint against Sharron Janssen, of Alpena, who holds the title to the house. The complaint said both vermin and the public can access the "extremely damaged" house and called the structure a hazard to nearby residents and passersby.
Janssen's failure to remove the house constitutes a violation of the fire-damaged structure of the city's blight ordinance, the complaint said.
In July, the Alpena Municipal Council approved a blight ordinance which, among other things, addressed the handling of vacant and uninhabitable structures.
City leaders crafted the ordinance, in part, in response to a burned house on Washington Avenue which stood, gradually crumbling, for close to a year when out-of-state-owners did not demolish it after a May 2020 fire.
According to court documents, the city has sent multiple notices to Janssen requiring demolition of the Lake Street house.
The city asked the court to give it permission to tear down the house itself and require Janssen to pay for all associated costs.
Janssen has been ordered to appear in court next week to contest the city's request.
Janssen did not have homeowners insurance on the home, her family told The News at the time of the fire.