Comment

Comment by XLFD on March 13, 2016 at 9:52pm

The Historic District has already been tried twice in Ludington, and it came down to a rare vote against the measure, undoubtedly thwarted primarily by the supermajority of residents in that district not wanting it, and to a lesser extent by the information that this forum churned through during the process, showing that it was a lose-lose proposition for everyone in the city, other than those with the new-found power to tell their neighbors what they could and cannot do.

Comment by stump on March 13, 2016 at 8:56pm

Although this is a interesting posting, I just hope Shay doesn't get any ideas to raise some money for the city of Ludington. I cam see it now, first the rental inspections , coming up our homes.

Comment by Willy on March 6, 2016 at 1:37pm

First of all she made the mistake of moving into a historic district. Many people who live there and can afford repairs on their homes will keep a sharp eye out for any others who do not comply with historic district rules and the will notify the authority of any potential violations she might have and you can bet they will keep tabs on her progress and follow up with more complaints if she does not comply. Secondly, most large cities need a strong housing code to keep blight from taking over. Most large cities require aggressive code enforcement to hold back blight which is a real problem in larger cities. Ludington has no real blight problem which would require such aggressive and oppressive enforcement which will only cause housing shortages and bad relations between the City and it's residents. The occasional and isolated housing violations in Ludington do not need an iron fist to rectify, just firm and effective laws. If she had been in any other part of the City I'm sure her neighbors would have been much more inclined to let her work at her own pace as long as progress was taking place. This is one of may reasons to block any attempts at creating historical districts in Ludington.

Another thing she did right was asking for a court appointed attorney and a jury trial. The authorities know this will impede any progress they may wish to happen and so,as seen, the judge was inclined to work with Nancy. Always ask for a jury trial, this will force them to compromise.

Comment by XLFD on March 6, 2016 at 11:24am

Most homeowners regard their home as their castle and private domain. But some Grand Rapids residents with homes in historic districts may have cause to wonder, given the experience of Nancy Wilson, who says the city has put her in a debtor's prison.

First, officials slapped Wilson with a fine for not getting her three-story house painted in time. Then, after the work was partially completed, regulators turned around and charged her with a misdemeanor.

“I don’t think it is the job of the neighborhood code compliance people to cause harm for anyone who lives in the city. They are supposed to be serving us and the city commission backs away and lets them do what they want and every action they took against me was counterproductive to getting the house painted,” said Wilson.

Since moving into her home in the city’s Heritage Hill neighborhood in 2006, Wilson has sunk time, money and sweat into refurbishing the property. Yet the city's code compliance department can’t seem to leave her alone. The ordeal began with citations for brush in her yard, which she had gathered while cleaning up soon after moving in. The city said it would come on her property and remove the piles and bill her $100.

Wilson complained about the warnings and years later, she managed to get a meeting with city leaders to discuss her concerns. She thought the meeting was productive but in 2013 she received notice that she needed to paint the three-story, century-old home in a matter of months and install a railing on a half-roof she never used. Wilson removed the rail years earlier when it began rotting. She planned to replace it eventually but was spending her time and money on other high-priority repairs.

Wilson wanted to wait a year to fix the rail and paint the house because she developed health problems and was short on cash. The city demanded that she pay a fee to appeal the citations. Instead, Wilson said she hand-delivered a letter to the code compliance department explaining her situation. The response came months later — in the form of fines.

Wilson is a do-it-yourselfer who can’t afford to hire professional contractors she says would have charged up to $40,000. Instead, she has received help from friends to get the work done. Eventually Wilson and her neighbor, Eric Baxter, began the massive paint job.

By then the city was demanding that she pay fines that topped $2,000. When she didn’t pay, the city put a lien on her house. After she painted the first two stories, the city took more action, this time charging her with a misdemeanor for having three or more code violations.

Wilson shared her story in a video produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy to alert others about the extent of local ordinances and how they can threaten private property. She is not alone in receiving fines and charges. Grand Rapids collects at least $2 million a year in maintenance fines from property owners.

“The state of Michigan has given very broad powers to local governments to protect the health, safety, and well-being of the citizens. But too many of these local code laws have slipped into the territory of aesthetics or appearances,” said Derk Wilcox, senior attorney with the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation.

“The bottom line in cases like these is the city is using this as a source of revenue, and pretty much driving out anyone who doesn't have the discretionary income to make these aesthetic changes quickly and at great expense,” added Wilcox.

The city declined to discuss Wilson's complaints or its ordinances. A judge did dismiss the criminal charge against Wilson but she still had to pay the fines. She likens her situation to being in a debtor’s prison and worries that someday she may have to move.

Courtesy of: http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/22218