By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The noticeable difference at 415 W. Rensselaer St. over the past few months was enough to convince Judge Sean Leuthold to postpone a hearing on the dilapidated house for 120 days.
Mitch Cooper, owner of 415 W. Rensselaer St. in Bucyrus, filed a civil suit against the City of Bucyrus Board of Building Standards and Appeals after the five-member board gave the city the go-ahead in June for demolition. At the time of the Building Standards and Appeals meeting, Cooper appealed the notice for condemnation and demolition of the home and garage and argued that he already took steps to improve the property. When the board denied giving Cooper any leeway after viewing photographic evidence of the property and hearing statements from Zoning Administrator John Rostash and City Law Director Rob Ratliff, Cooper decided to take the city to court and appeal the decision there.
Leuthold was also provided with evidence concerning the state of the property.
“What I found was quite disturbing,” Leuthold said Monday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. “How a property could have gotten in this poor shape is beyond comprehension, the condition beyond payable.”
The judge later compared a dilapidated house to a drug house over the level of danger it posed to the community. Despite his concerns, Leuthold credited Cooper for the substantial work he has completed over a short period of time. An inspection by the Bucyrus Fire Department also showed “remarkable progress.”
“My client has made extraordinary progress,” noted defense counsel Adam Stone.
Since the order for condemnation and demolition in June, Cooper started putting a fresh coat of paint on the house, tore off the front porch, and cleaned up the property some. He still has a long way to go, however.
As a condition of the postponement, the city will require Cooper to clean up and remove debris on the exterior grounds, clear debris from the porches and stabilize the back porch, finish painting the home, and close any holes or windows. If Cooper is able to meet the benchmark within 120 days, the City of Bucyrus would allow additional time to improve the electrical and plumbing work on the house.
“I hope that you restore this wonderful abode so it becomes a historical house,” Leuthold said in response to Cooper’s wish to return the home to its former glory. “If you don’t restore this historical home, it’ll just become history.”
Before Cooper made a serious push to clean up the property, 415 W. Rensselaer St. was the subject of numerous complaints from the neighborhood over the years. Ratliff issued an inspection warrant through the International Property Maintenance Code in 2014, which led to the Bucyrus Police Department calling in the Columbus Bomb Squad in reference to a suspect device. Though possible bomb-making materials, such as Styrofoam, wiring, and jugs of urine, were found inside, the bomb squad determined they did not find anything that was not manufactured.
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