LAWTON – Lawton recently added 14 buildings, including a former motel on Cache Road, to the city’s list of dilapidated and dangerous buildings.
The Lawton City Council voted March 15 to place the former Super 9 Motel, 1201 NW Cache Road, on the list. The back of the property, 1202 NW Lawton Ave., was added to the list separately.
The city’s Neighborhood Services division has fielded several complaints about the property, said supervisor Corey Bowen.
“We do receive a lot of calls on this one, and we have for quite some time,” he said.
Melissa Busse, a sales associate with Insight Commercial Real Estate Brokerage, said she represents the property’s buyers.
“We do have someone that is very interested in making this eyesore go away, but it is taking a little bit of a process – getting architects together to work with planning,” she said. “We are needing some additional time.”
Busse said the property has not been sold yet.
Upon learning that the property has not sold, Councilman Jay Burk said he receives numerous complaints each month about the former motel.
“We’ve had problems with people loitering there,” he said. “We’ve got homeless people around there. So, everybody from the businesses on both sides and across the street are completely upset with us as a city, because we haven’t done something.”
Busse said she is working with the buyers to resolve the situation.
“We’re getting there,” she said. “We just need a little bit more time.”
Mayor Stan Booker said he thought adding the property to the D&D list was the best decision for the city.
“And then, you have 30 business days to pull that permit,” he said. “And you have to make some kind of progress every month. I don’t know the exact rules of that progress, but to renew that permit every 30 days, you’ve got to make some progress.”
Putting buildings on the list
City officials consider a building for addition to the D&D list when the Neighborhood Services division receives a complaint about the property, or when staffers notice that the property qualifies as dilapidated and dangerous, according to the division’s webpage. Neighborhood Services notifies the property owners about the violations and sets a deadline for correcting them.
If the owners do not fix the problems or the building is truly abandoned, the council hosts a hearing to determine whether the building is detrimental to public health, safety or welfare. Buildings that create fire hazards, which could endanger other buildings, are also considered for inclusion on the D&D list.
Adding a building to the list gives the owner a chance to decide whether they want to fix the problems or tear down the building, then obtain the appropriate permit from City Hall.
If the owner opts for repairs, they have 30 business days to obtain a remodeling permit. The permit may be renewed every 30 days as long as the owner make progress toward ensuring the building complies with city standards.
If the owner decides to tear down the building, they have 30 days to get a demolition permit and another 30 days to demolish the building.