LANCASTER : City Bills Owner of Razed Home $58,303
An elected member of an Antelope Valley water agency, whose fire-damaged house was demolished as a public nuisance by Lancaster officials two months ago, has been billed $58,303 for the expense to the city.
The City Council voted 5 to 0 Monday night to recover the city’s expenses from Glenn Martin, a member of the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency board, by placing a lien on his now-cleared parcel.
“I want to thank you gentlemen for destroying a home of 37 years,” Martin told the council, sarcastically.
After an unsuccessful 17-year campaign--including several criminal prosecutions--to get Martin to clean up the junk and debris in and around his house, the city moved in with three bulldozers in May, leveling the house.
The city had found Martin’s house on East Avenue J-1 to be structurally unsafe due to damage from a 1989 fire. Martin was prosecuted on criminal charges that he set the fire, but was found not guilty. With the lien in place, the city can collect its debt whenever Martin sells his land.
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