LAWTON — Lawton added 40 buildings Tuesday to the city’s list of dilapidated and dangerous structures, also known as the D and D list.
After conducting public hearings for each building, the Lawton City Council voted to place all 40 on the list.
The process of adding a building to the D and D list begins when the city’s Neighborhood Services division receives a complaint about the building, or staff notices that the structure meets the definition of a dilapidated or dangerous building, according to the division’s web page. Neighborhood Services notifies the property owner of the violations and sets a time frame for correcting those problems.
If the owners fail to fix the problems or the building is truly abandoned, the Lawton City Council hosts a public hearing to determine whether the property has become detrimental to public health, safety or welfare. Buildings that create fire hazards, which could endanger other properties, are also considered for the D and D list.
Adding a building to the list gives the property owner time to decide whether they want to repair or demolish the structure, then obtain the appropriate permit. If they decide they want to repair the building, they have 30 business days to pull a remodeling permit, which may be renewed every 30 days if the owner is making progress on bringing the building up to the city’s standards.
If the owner decides to tear the building down, they have 30 days to obtain a demolition permit and another 30 days to raze the building.
Here’s a partial list of the buildings that were declared dilapidated and dangerous Tuesday:
• The former Dunbar Elementary School, 1702 W N H Jones Ave.
•1107 W. Gore Blvd.
• 103 SW 14th St.
• 106 NW 14th St.
• 207 NW Columbia Ave.