Is there any update on this? I have not seen a citation filed, or any City of Lansing Code Compliance representatives near this property. All trash and debris is still sitting there and has continued to grow.

Please do something about this.

I give up. Nothing is going to be done about this, apparently.

The trailers are now full to the brim with tree cuttings. Many tires on the trailer have gone completely flat and the axles are broken.

In other words, debris is going nowhere.

Thank you for completely ignoring this issue.

Hi AC, Looks like a mess. I can understand how you feel about this. Did you check this property's status by using the above portal address? Or are you saying you did check, "I haven't seen a citation filed"? (Sorry, I'm confused) Code Com might be working out a plan/timeline but it may take longer than we'd guess...check out the portal again. A citation doesn't guarantee that the improvements will happen or happen any faster.If you see no action underway after viewing the portal info consider calling Council Pres. Wood. She has a great record for getting things done. Good luck.

Jan,

Thank you for your reply in this. Sorry if my earlier comment confused you - I did indeed check the portal and did not see anything new. That was the case when I originally wrote that comment back in July and it is still the case when I checked the portal today.

As someone who is not originally from Lansing or the state of Michigan, I have quickly been trying to understand the city's housing code and other codes of compliance. Perhaps I am not looking in the proper place on the portal website and missing something. The new residents who have moved into this property have at least worked with the landlord to clean up most of this mess. The trash, furniture, and debris are gone - but it was the actual residents that were able to get this done. After clearing half of their yard from overgrown brush and weeds (because the landlord hardly does anything else but mow), the trailers are now filled with plant debris.

I am happy to have nice responsible neighbors, but it irks me that even they had to poke and prod their landlord on this issue. And the fact that he still didn't take care of it - the neighbors did. As I mentioned, the trailers have been sitting there so long that now most of the tires are flat and with a broken axle, cannot be moved.

If you have any recommendations on the portal, please let me know. I really appreciate your advice and help on this matter.

I have been looking at this mess for too long. Way too long.

Thanks!

Hi AC,

Good to hear this property is looking better. Possibly the landlord worked out a deal with the new tenants regarding the clean up? Excellence all the way around if that's what it takes to get the job done. Let's hope there's a plan for the removal of the trailers... Sounds like your new neighbors will take pride in the way their home looks.

The responsibility for Code Compliance moved to the Lansing Fire Department earlier this year. I've seen the new letterhead titled "Fire Marshall" rather than "City of Lansing" and firmer wording on complaint notices. This change may get the attention/actions of offenders quicker than the format used on the old notices.

While I had no complaints about the former system I've read postings from others who felt Code Compliance "had no teeth". I've followed repeat complaints from the same handful of "anonymous" writers and felt their complaints were exaggerated. With a few probing questions they would back down from the inflated details of the issues as they'd reported. It was their opinion CC wasn't acting with enough "bite". "Bite" would be defined as a need to see punitive enforcement for every real, inflated, or minor infraction of codes as interpreted by the writer.

With the new change of LFD investigating code violations I hope they will find a way to discourage the flow of frivolous or spiteful complaints. The less time they spend appeasing chronic complainers the more time they'll have free to promote relevant improvements to our neighborhoods.

You asked about the portal...if there's no info about this property maybe a satisfactory plan/timeline has been agreed on between CC and the owner. The property owner may have given assurances of compliance as he had a clean up agreement with his new tenants in place. Certainly not saying this would be the case with you, but have noticed the repeat complainers feel that if no mention of a fine or other punitive actions are on the portal that "CC hasn't done anything about this..." They assume an obligatory fine should be imposed with each complaint they submit, rather than understanding CC evaluates/assists and makes recommendations on a case-by-case evaluation.

Happy to hear that you now have some solid neighbors. I hope your experience as a resident of Lansing will be enriching.

10/12/14 Update:

Last Sunday (10/5/14) the landlord moved the trailers to the middle of the backyard. He verbally stated to my boyfriend that they would be moving these right away. One week later and they are still sitting here ....

I spoke with the neighbors earlier this week and they told me that their landlord received a ticket for the trailers, and if he did not move them within one week, they would be towed away.

He moved them - but only so they aren't as visible from the street. As you can see, he has allowed the tenants of 300 S. Clemens to park their vehicles on the grass where the trailers once stood (which would also conveniently help block any tow trucks that wanted to attempt to haul this junk away!)

As you can also see, there are still huge pieces of rotting wood sitting directly behind the house. These have been sitting here for nearly 3 years. I would like them removed, too.

And sadly, the neighbors who have done most of the cleanup of this backyard area are moving out. They informed me that they are moving to a "better" property that this landlord owns since the house they are currently occupy is in need of such major repair (Example: Their front porch is rotted out and physically sagging, and their front porch steps are so rickety no one should walk on them, ever).

I have seen some tickets distributed in the neighborhood and feel confident this issue can be resolved (finally!). Please please please have the Fire Department or whomever is responsible for Code Compliance now to please tow this junk away.

It's been more than a week and I know this landlord will not even attempt to move all this trash and debris for another 2 years.

Attached photo of 10/12/14 update:

I checked with Code Compliance and the owner asked requested an extension. It was grant the extension for 7 days and the new compliance due date is 10/16/14.

Your previous neighbors that cleaned the brush away were friends of ours (we are the new tenants that took over their lease). We are hoping to remove the rotted porch in our backyard maybe this summer (it's definitely an eye sore and I'm not sure the land lord will be removing this anytime soon, especially with the snow). We haven't had any luck with fixing the front porch (but we were able to balance the stairs out). The property definitely needs a lot of work still.

Update on this property: The trash/debris was mostly moved, but there remains the issue of the rotted out porch parts in the backyard.

Also, this property was given an orange tag by the city sometime in April/May of 2015. Absolutely NO work has been done to this house except a fresh coat of white paint on the - still - very dilapidated and structurally unsound porch. I have seen the landlord and helpers of his come by over the past month to what appears to be "cleaning" the property and getting it ready for move in.

I saw an ad on Craigslist for this property, which they were trying to rent out while the orange code sticker remained. As of this past weekend (1/16/16), the orange sticker has been removed. Can someone update me with WHY? This landlord has done NOTHING to fix this property and he has done this process at least two other times now. The house gets tagged, he does the bare minimum of something to get the property un-tagged, and he rents it out until it gets tagged again.

How can this still be happening with such property in such poor shape? Residents that move in here have all left within a year or less because the house is in such terrible condition. Can anything be done about this particular property?

According to the City Assessor website this property was last inspected by code compliance on 1-15-16 and "certified" it as rentable. Jeez, makes you wonder after what you described above.

Shevah88 - Yep! That sounds about right. It gets tagged nearly year, the landlord does the bare minimum, gets some young students to rent it out, and somehow the issue is "fixed."

I will give a final update to this problem: The trash and debris was finally moved during the summer of 2016. Yay!!!! However, it was because of his lovely tenants that any of this got done. And a friend of the tenant who also rents from this same landlord told me that he basically just dumped the trash and debris "temporarily" into her yard. This landlord is a hoarder who collects trash to use and try to fix his other houses. I am not sure of the friend's address, but hopefully she isn't dealing with this trash and debris any longer.

So, thank you to my wonderful neighbors. You all are cool but your landlord still sucks.