City Wants Structure Down Officials Enter Order For Destruction Of Partly Built House

Thu., Dec. 28, 1995

Bruce Krasnow Staff Writer

Citing safety concerns, city building officials have ordered that a partially built home along a steep slope in northwest Spokane be demolished.

The demolition order was entered for the property at 8619 N. Forest Blvd. in the area west of Indian Trail Road. The structure is really just a foundation with wooden supports, some of which were blown down in recent storms.

But the concrete was poured over sandy fill and not properly backfilled and stabilized. It now is at risk of sliding down an embankment, said Terry Clegg, code enforcement officer for the city.

“It’s very steep and if people don’t pay attention, the whole thing could go down the hill,” said Clegg.

The firm that built the structure, Elite Home Construction has filed for bankruptcy.

Neighbors said the property is unsightly and has become a gathering place for kids, who had used some of the materials to build a fort.

“Nobody’s very happy about it,” said Betty McManamon, a neighbor.

McManamon said kids had been gathering at the structure to smoke cigarettes. She’s concerned both about a fire and an injury caused from a slide.

“They had a fort back there and went back there and smoked,” said Melissa Bailey, who lives next door and said it was the second time someone tried to build on the land.

The fort and other wooden walls of the home fell over after recent storms. The property has also been marked with a yellow police tape by real estate agent Jim Bjorkland of Tomlinson-Black.

That has helped deter kids, neighbors said.

Bjorkland said his firm has acquired the property from U.S. Bank, which foreclosed on the builder. He has one potential buyer, a builder, who was interested in taking over construction. The lot is worth between $20,000 and $25,000.

Any builder would need a geotechnical and soils report completed to determine how to brace the foundation, said Bjorkland.

The city says it is not necessarily committed to tearing down the structure if a plan were submitted that could make it safe.

But now that it has been identified as a hazard, officials need to move quickly, said Clegg. “We’ve got to try and correct it before something happens.”

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