Bluffton home is still ‘eyesore’ 2 years after fire, POA says. Here’s the town’s response
Nearly two years after a Bluffton house was destroyed in a fire, the shell of a home left behind still stands — despite neighbors’ complaints.
The house — which sits in a cul-de-sac at 3 Bristlestone Court in the Pine Ridge’s non-gated community — caught fire during the morning of March 20, 2017.
Kevin Wild, the home’s owner, was charged with second-degree arson the following day after police said he was “panicking” at the scene. The case against him is still pending, according to Beaufort County Circuit Court records.
That’s where the story ends, according to Meredith Bannon, an attorney who represents the Pine Ridge Property Owner’s Association.
Despite concern over safety of the structure, the eyesore and the possibility of decreasing property values, Bannon said the house has not been demolished.
“The neighbors have just been really frustrated with everything,” Bannon said.
Eileen Hampson, a resident of Pine Ridge for over a decade, said she has been getting the run-around from the Town of Bluffton for months on what will happen to the house.
“I told (the town) our concerns were many,” Hampson said last week. “Mainly, the unsightliness of it. If I lived next door, it would be a safety issue too. There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood.”
“If I were selling my house, I’d really be upset,” Hampson added. “It used to be our homes sold pretty quickly because they were pretty reasonably priced. Now they are just sitting. I think this could be why.”
The fire left the home without a roof and exposed to the elements. The property has been secured so that no one can enter and is checked regularly to ensure it is secured, according to Richard Spruce, chief building official of the town’s building safety department.
Richardson LaBruce, the town’s attorney with Finger, Melnick and Brooks lawfirm, said this week that fire officials informed the town that the property is no longer needed for the criminal investigation.
Bannon said though the case is pending, the house can be torn down by the town if it were to place a lien on the property to avoid using taxpayer funds. Spruce confirmed that possibility Wednesday.
The town, however, said it’s dealing with a unique situation with a pending criminal case against Wild.
“We’ve never had a situation like this before,” Debbie Szpanka, the town’s public information officer, said Wednesday. “The main question is how does the town, if we are inclined to do so, use public funds on private property, especially if the owner is charged with arson?”
In order for the town to demolish the home, it would need approval from town council, Szpanka said. Two calls to Town Manager Marc Orlando Wednesday to inquire if and when the matter would be presented to council was not immediately returned.
In situations where homes are not up to code, the town has offered a neighborhood assistance program where residents can apply for assistance to fix their homes.
Wild applied for that program and qualified for assistance based on his income, Szpanka said. However, the program is geared toward those wishing to stay in their homes, and Wild does not, she said. Therefore, Wild did not qualify for assistance.
Two calls to Wild’s attorney, who Bannon and LaBruce identified as Scott Wild, were not returned. An attempt to contact Wild via Facebook was also not successful.
When asked why the POA cannot pay for the demolition of the home, Bannon said it would be an “unplanned expense” and a risk for the POA to place a lien on the property and foreclose — therefore owning the property.
“The POA basically is looking at fronting a ton of cash they don’t currently have allotted with little promise of return,” Bannon said. “The county and the state have given the town the authority to enforce codes and dangerous properties so the town is really the only hope to get this repaired.”
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