Town officials say they plan to follow up Monday on a blight complaint on Summer Street that multiple neighbors had cited as a health hazard as well as an eyesore.
183 Summer Street. Contributed
A zoning enforcement officer in the Planning & Zoning Department confirmed that in walking the property at 183 Summer St. with its owner and tenants last week, he and health officials came upon trash and other disused items dispersed around the grounds.
Those responsible for the property’s upkeep have until Dec. 28 to address the problem, or a formal warning letter could come down from the town, the P&Z official told NewCanaanite.com.
183 Summer Street. Contributed
Neighbors say the property there—a 1928-built, 1,179-square-foot multifamily house on .25 acres, according to tax records—has seen a “significant decline” through several years.
Three separate neighbors lodged complaints with Land Use officials, including that household garbage bags had been left in the yard, torn open by vermin and lying there for more than two weeks.
According to a formal complaint letter lodged by one neighbor with the town and obtained by NewCanaanite.com, the landlord and tenants have failed to maintain “either the inside of the building or exterior grounds.”
183 Summer Street. Contributed
“We have had a significant pick-up in large rodent activity due to garbage left outside on the ground for weeks,” one neighbor wrote. “My family is deeply concerned this property is a health hazard and affecting the welfare of all neighbors on the street. I have hired a professional exterminator to set-up bait stations and the rodents are cleaning out the station in a week or less. In seven years of residing on Summer Street we witnessed a new low in condition and lack of concern by [the property owner] towards others on the street.”
New Canaan’s blight ordinance is outlined in Section 7A of the Town Code.
183 Summer Street. Contributed
Blight itself is defined as “Any condition or combination of conditions in public view upon any residential premises that tends to devalue real estate, or that is a negative influence upon the neighborhood or upon any neighbor’s use and enjoyment of his or her own property, due to, characterized by, or reflective of neglect, decay, deterioration, disrepair, rotting, overgrowth, infestation, dilapidation, or failure to maintain.”
Under Section 7A-3, it’s the job of property owners to maintain the exterior of structures and grounds, and tenants or occupants of residences must “refrain from creating or maintaining blight.”
Very disappointing that the founding principal and namesake of the architect firm (Do H Chung Architects) hired for the Millport expansion by the New Canaan Housing Authority appears to be the original purchaser of this property and it remains under the control of his family today. For a successful architect to let a property located one street above the Millport project to fall in such disrepair is shameful and raises questions about the selection of this firm for a key town development project.
And it’s disgusting that the tenants complained about the mold in the house and how there were rodents living in the walls which they have seen mice and moles in their kitchen. The squirrels took care of the electric.