Seattle court ruling keeps Hendrix house standing

SEATTLE – The dilapidated little house where guitar wizard Jimi Hendrix lived as a child will remain standing for now, a King County Superior Court judge has ruled.

The decision means the city of Seattle can’t demolish the empty house yet, giving its owners more time before the next two scheduled court hearings to decide what to do with it.

“The city sought to demolish the house today at 5 p.m.,” home owner Pete Sikov said after Tuesday’s ruling. “They can’t do that. We won.”

But the city’s Aug. 4 deadline for demolishing the house still stands if the building stays on city property.

“It seems to be their mission to demolish it,” Sikov said.

City officials say they’re tired of waiting.

“We’ve bent over backwards to give (Sikov) time to do this,” said Seattle Facilities Department spokeswoman Kathy Sugiyama.

The house was moved to a city-owned lot in Seattle’s Central District four years ago, after the city approved redevelopment of its original site. In exchange for clearing the property, the city gave Sikov the right to store the house on a city lot.

What has happened since then is in dispute.

Sikov said the city has reneged on promises related to the home’s storage and assorted permits – and promised sale of the storage lot, which would have allowed him to restore the house as a suitable memorial to Hendrix, who died at 27 in 1970.

City officials countered with a 13-point list of Sikov’s promises to move the house and buy the lot. They say he’s blown nearly every deadline.

“It’s come to the point where the city decided to move on this,” Sugiyama said.

Sikov says he plans to move the house to Renton, near Hendrix’s grave. He describes city deadlines as “unrealistic” and says he’s working with Renton officials.

A July 19 hearing is scheduled to determine whether Sikov can get a permanent injunction against the home’s demolition.