Town of Niagara to hold public hearing on property considered for demolition

By Benjamin Joe

The owner of 2920 Birch Ave., which could face demolition after a Town of Niagara hearing in November, said he considers the process of condemning his property as done fraudulently – and should the Town Board decide upon destroying the structure on it, there will be a legal response.

Wieslaw Walawender, owner of the property, said Town of Niagara Building Inspector Charles Haseley came on his property in May and was there for only a few minutes before leaving, which he believes is not sufficient time to make a determination of condemnation.

Walawender was not on the property at the time of Haseley’s appearance, but said he has two witnesses, as well as a video of the building inspector taking photographs and leaving.

“Do you know how much time the inspector took to evaluate the property? How about a minute and 37 seconds? Two witnesses were there. Two witnesses were there with a camera,” Walawender said.

In response, Haseley said he and his department have had sufficient time to see the damage of the house.

“We’ve had plenty of time to condemn it just based on the observation of the exterior,” he said. “We also gave him plenty of time to contradict the fact that we condemned it. This has been ongoing for several months, and he’s had opportunity to prove otherwise and he has not.”

Walawender took issue with Haseley’s condemnation.

Haseley has said over 50% of the house is irreparable and must be demolished, which means no repairs or building permit can be issued. However, Walawender contends only 25% of the structure – which includes tearing down of an addition to the house – is in need of repair.

Walawender said the repairs should only take $7,000, as he has all the materials, and he has put aside $4,000 for an electrician and other certified workers to fix specialized aspects of the building like the electric and plumbing. Other work can be done by himself.

“I can’t pay myself,” he said.

According to David Kautz, a licensed structural engineer hired by Walawender, Haseley has demanded the building’s “work package” to include a complete rebuild.

“It was to be a complete and full, as built, of the structure. In other words, it wasn’t just saying, ‘There’s a wall,’ but, ‘What is the framing in the wall?’ ” Kautz said. “It’s not just saying ‘There’s framing,’ but, ‘What size framing? What are the connections?’

“Basically, what I would produce and give to a contractor and say, ‘Build this.’ ”

Kautz said that, in order to get the building permit, he’d have to do a structural analysis and a code analysis, including electrical wiring and piping for plumbing. He said Haseley told him this after Kautz initially sent a letter to the Town of Niagara Building Inspection Department.

According to Haseley, Kautz’s letter was not a full and complete analysis. Kautz later agreed in an interview with this reporter, calling it a way of “opening a dialog with the town,” on moving forward with repairs.

The date of the letter is in dispute. Kautz said he was forced to send a copy of it for the Aug. 12 work session after being told no one at the meeting had seen it.

However, in a memo to the Town Board on July 15, Haseley said the letter had arrived before that date. A Freedom of Information Law request initiated by Walawender shows the letter dated for July 5. That FOIL request also produced Haseley’s memo.

Walawender said in an email that it was “strange” that Haseley releases some documents, but not all, including the goal of his request to find any other condemnations of his properties that Haseley said have taken place.

Haseley said, “The time for the disposal of documents, at the purge from the file – we don’t have to keep the file, by law – so, the files he was looking for were purged and were no longer required to be kept.”

Walawender said he did not own the property before 2021, but Haseley claims to have a document with Walawender’s signature as owner as far back as 2008.

With regard to the property, Kautz said it would take “some time” just to find out what the original plans for the home were in order to adhere to the building inspector’s demands.

Walawender said that, if the town followed through with this demand, it was possible he’d reach over 50% of the house, but if the undamaged part of the home does not have to be opened up and rehabbed, he will fall well below it.

The public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Town of Niagara Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso said, “Everything should be discussed at the hearing. This has been discussed for too many months. Perhaps years. And it should all be discussed at the hearing.”

Walawender also said he has other issues with the Town of Niagara’s decision to demolish his house. He said he is a victim of selective enforcement, and said the town is coming after him exclusively. Walawender said that farms on Lockport Road have barn roofs that are bare of shingles. He said one of them is owned by Haseley or one of Haseley’s relatives.

Haseley said, “I do not own that farm,” nor does a relative. “(Moreover,) what you have to understand is that farm buildings are exempt from the building code of New York state. They follow a separate rule.”