McKenzie v. City of Chicago

968 F. Supp. 1268, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9173, 1997 WL 357998
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided June 24, 1997·No. No. 97 C 284·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CASTILLO, District Judge.

In the wake of our recent decision granting the plaintiffs in this action a preliminary injunction, McKenzie v. City of Chicago (“McKenzie I”), 964 F.Supp. 1183 (N.D.Ill.1997), the defendants (collectively, “the City”) have moved for reconsideration or, in the alternative, a stay of the injunction pending appeal. Upon careful consideration of the parties’ arguments, the newly submitted evidence, and the original evidence, the court denies the City’s motion in its entirety.

At issue are one section of an Illinois statute, 65 ILCS 5/ll-31-l(e), and a Chicago city ordinance, § 13-9-010 (collectively, “the Ordinance”), that permit the demolition of certain residential buildings through summary procedures. In Chicago, this summary demolition is overseen by the Fast Track Demolition Program, which is part of the city Department of Buildings. The Fast Track program has operated since approximately 1994, and currently accounts for the demolition of between 200 and 1000 buildings each year.

A building may be demolished under the Ordinance if it is “a residential building ... 2 stories or less in height ..., and the corporate official designated to be in charge of enforcing the municipality’s building code determines that the building is open and vacant and an immediate and continuing hazard to the community in which the building is located.” 65 ILCS 511-31-l(e). In assigning buildings to Fast Track demolition, the City focuses on the first part of this requirement, “open and vacant.” The City believes that any building that is open and vacant — i.e., the interior is accessible to non-owners — is a likely shelter for gang members and criminals, and that the building therefore also meets the requirement that it be “an immediate and continuing hazard to the community.” There is no evidence that the condition of the building plays any part in the decision to demolish. Rather, the criteria for demolition are: predominantly residential, two stories or less, vacant, and open.

The Ordinance requires the municipality to provide three forms of notice of its intent to demolish the building: the posting of a sign not less than two feet by two feet on the building; the mailing of letters to all record owners, beneficial owners of land trusts, and lienholders of record, by certified mail, return receipt requested; and the publication for three consecutive days of a notice in the newspaper. These notices must state that the municipality intends to “demolish, repair, or enclose the building, or remove any garbage, debris, or other hazardous, noxious or unhealthy substances” unless the owner does so himself within 30 days. 65 ILCS 5/11-31-1(e); Chi. Mun. Code § 13-9-010. The Ordinance does not define what is meant by “enclose,” nor does it require that a municipality state its specific intent to demolish the building (as opposed to taking any of the other listed actions). The Ordinance does not require the notices to state the specific reasons why the building has been designated as “an immediate and continuing hazard to the community” or list specific actions that must be taken in order to avoid further municipal action.

Thirty days after the date of the last notice, the municipality may proceed with demolition. Afterward, the municipality may file a lien against the property for costs and expenses related to the demolition. 65 ILCS 5/11 — 31—1 (e); see also Chi. Mun. Code § 13-9-010. The municipality may then move to foreclose on the property if necessary to enforce the lien. 65 ILCS 5/ll-31-l(a); Chi. Mun. Code § 13-9-010.

[1271]*1271The Ordinance provides that “[a] person objecting to the proposed actions of the corporate authorities may file his or her objection in an appropriate form in a court of competent jurisdiction.” 65 ILCS 5/11 — 31— 1(e); see also Chi. Mun. Code § 13-9-010. Since a municipality may commence demolition 30 days after issuing its three forms of notice, anyone wishing to file an objection apparently must do so within 30 days, although the Ordinance does not say this explicitly. There is no definition or explanation of what is meant by an “objection,” what an “appropriate form” for it would be, or what a “court of competent jurisdiction” is, although the Ordinance later states that if “any person has sought a hearing under this subsection before a court and has served a copy of the complaint” on the mayor, the municipality may not proceed with demolition until the court issues an order authorizing it. Id. The Ordinance does not require that any of the three forms of notice inform the reader that he or she may seek a hearing by filing such an “objection,” or that doing so will prevent any further action until a judicial determination has been reached.

The City’s practice in implementing the Ordinance through its Fast Track program generally mirrors the fairly sparse requirements of the Ordinance. The City makes an initial determination that a building is open and vacant and therefore eligible for Fast Track demolition. It then compiles a list of those persons to whom mailed notice must be directed, as defined by the Ordinance; it sometimes adds the names of those who have recently purchased taxes for the property. If the property is still open and vacant at the next inspection, the City posts the required notice and also issues the mailed and published notices.

In general, these notices do not provide any information that the Ordinance does not require, so any of the Ordinance’s failures to provide information are reflected in the actual Fast Track notices. As with the Ordinance, no notice is given of the City’s intent to demolish (as opposed to enclosing, repairing or cleaning the property); the specific nature of the problems that led to the Fast Track designation; or what specific actions must be taken to prevent demolition. The exception is notice of the opportunity to file an objection; the letter and publication notices (but not the posted sign) state that the recipient has “the right to object to the City taking this action by filing legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction.” The head of the Fast Track program, Ron McDermott, testified that if his office receives calls asking how to prevent demolition, he tells them that they must board up the building and that they may attempt to rehabilitate the property if they wish. He does not mention the possibility of seeking a hearing, and if callers have questions about the procedure for filing an “objection,” he refuses to answer, telling them that he cannot furnish legal advice. McDermott dep. at 31.1

In the event that an owner or other interested person wishes to avoid demolition by boarding up or repairing the building, no guidance or assistance is forthcoming from the City. The City does not tell interested persons its standards for finding that a building is “secure,” (i.e., boarded up), which require that the building be completely boarded up, without the smallest opening anywhere.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

McKenzie v. City of Chicago, 968 F. Supp. 1268, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9173, 1997 WL 357998 (N.D. Ill. 1997).

968 F. Supp. 1268 (McKenzie v. City of Chicago) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Finnsugar Bioproducts, Inc. v. Amalgamated Sugar Co.
244 F. Supp. 2d 890 (N.D. Illinois, 2002)
McKenzie v. City of Chicago
175 F.R.D. 280 (N.D. Illinois, 1997)