County has little recourse against dilapidated buildings

Smashed windows. Cracked foundations. Peeling paint and rusted edges. Holes in the walls and roof.

There are many telltale signs of disrepair on some homes and buildings in Beaufort County, but unless they are both falling apart and abandoned, county officials say they cannot tear them down or force an owner to clean them up.

"There might be some structures in the county that look dilapidated, but if it's still occupied, we can't do anything about that," said Arthur Cummings, county director of building codes.

Like the county, municipalities also grapple with how to improve or remove dilapidated, vacant buildings.

In the city of Beaufort, officials have ordered the demolition of nine houses in the historic district.

In Bluffton, four partially built homes left vacant and unfinished by developers squeezed in the down real estate market have been declared unsafe.

Residents say the broken-down buildings tarnish the landscape and drive down property values for nearby homes.

"People should be told to remove them, maintain them, do something," said Jim Beck, who moved to St. Helena Island about two years ago and has complained about several seemingly abandoned trailers on U.S. 21 near Hunting Island State Park. "They're eyesores."

There are 53 abandoned structures in unincorporated areas of the county that fall under the unsafe-building ordinance, said Audra Antonacci, county codes enforcement supervisor. Resident complaints and inspections by codes enforcement patrols led the county to inspect those properties and contact the owners to request they be torn down or repaired, Antonacci said.

Addresses for the properties cannot be released until owners are given due process, Antonacci said.

"They're scattered ... St. Helena, Lady's Island, Sheldon, Burton," she said of the structures on the list.

"You can tell that (they're) abandoned. Windows are busted out; grass is very, very high," Antonacci said. "Doors are busted down. There's easy access for vagrants or rodents. Ceilings caving in. ... It's pretty obvious."

The county's unsafe-building ordinance says, in part:

• If a building official deems a structure to be unsafe for occupancy, a complaint will be issued to the owner listed on tax identification rolls. The complaint also is posted on the targeted building, and the notice filed with the clerk of court.

• The property owner can appeal the ruling at the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals within 45 days after receiving the complaint.

• If given approval to make repairs instead of demolishing the building, the owner should get all necessary permits and start work within 60 days.

Owners who fail to follow county orders are taken to civil court.

No money is budgeted for demolition, so the county cannot tear down a building and charge the owner later, Antonacci said.

The unsafe-building policy applies to both site-built buildings and mobile homes, as well as commercial structures.

Mobile homes can be particularly difficult to deal with.

"Most people who have those units actually can't afford to have that taken down," Cummings said. "Maybe that's all these people can afford."

Councilman Bill McBride knows of properties in his district that appear on the outside to be in grave disrepair, but inside, there are residents who can't afford to pay rent or a mortgage and also make improvements.

"I'm not advocating that those houses be torn down," said McBride, who only occasionally hears complaints from his constituents about buildings they consider eyesores. "Many people are just doing the best they can."