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Town wants building gone
Kernersville to ask judge for an order on dilapidated structure
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Published: August 16, 2008
The town of Kernersville will pursue legal action against the owner of a dilapidated vacant building that poses a danger to residents, town officials say.
Town Manager Curtis Swisher recommended last week that the board of aldermen begin legal proceedings against Cal-Corp LLC of Raleigh, a real-estate rental and investment company.
It owns the building at 1220 Old Greensboro Road, which is visible from westbound Business 40, near the Macy Grove Road bridge. The town wants a judge to order the owner to demolish the building. "It is a terrible-looking building," Alderman Keith Mason said. "It's a graffiti target. It's not exactly what we want people to see when they are driving into Kernersville."
Town officials said they have tried to contact the building's owner several times, but they have unable to reach the owner. Renneth "R.J." Calton is listed as the company's manager on its papers filed with the N.C. Secretary of State's Office.
Calton could not be reached for comment.
Jeff Hatling, the town's community-development director, said that the industrial building attracts children and homeless people.
"It is a public nuisance and a danger," Hatling said.
In a memo dated July 24, Town Attorney John Wolfe outlined a plan for town officials to deal with the building. Wolfe said that Ken Whitaker, the town's zoning and inspections administrator, has followed state law that allows the town to condemn the building.
Whitaker, a police officer, a building inspector and an electrical inspector checked the building in April. He then sent two notices about its condition to the owner. The owner received the notices, which were sent by certified mail, Whitaker said.
The building, which has been abandoned for at least 20 years, was used as an equipment and machine company, Whitaker said. It was built in 1965, and it has a tax value of $190,172, but its commercial value is $17,724.
The metal-frame building has 7,200 square feet and sits on 3.16 acres that are overgrown with weeds and other plants. Its roof is damaged, and its brick façade is cracked, Whitaker said.
At some point, a fire damaged the building's front section.
Neighbors also have complained about the building.
After the town held a hearing in April, it ordered the owner to demolish the building. State law allowed the owner to appeal the order 10 days after the town issued it. Cal-Corp has not responded to any of the town's demands, Wolfe said.
Under state law, the town can demolish the building "and impose the charges as a lien against the owner," Wolfe said in the memo. "We are hesitant to recommend that."
It is a large building, and its demolition may be costly. "We do not want the town to incur the costs first and then possibly go to court to ‘prove' that the town was entitled to clear the property and impose the lien," Wolfe said.
A judge will review the case and enter an order that outlines the rights and obligations of the owner and town, Wolfe said.
The town could pursue a misdemeanor charge against the owner for failing to follow the demolition order, Wolfe said.
But he recommended against the town filing any criminal charges because that would not deal with the building's problems, and judges and prosecutors prefer that municipalities resolve these problems through civil proceedings.
It is the right approach for the town to pursue civil legal action against the building's owner, Mason said.
"It is at the point where we have to do something," Mason said. "What an eyesore it is."
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
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