Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
As expected, Roanoke building officials condemned the Justice House property Wednesday, ordering that its tenants leave and the buildings be boarded up.
Condemnation notices identifying the First Street Southwest property as unsafe were posted on the two apartment buildings, and each tenant received a copy of the order to vacate.
``They finally got what they wanted,'' said resident Robert LeLoup, who contends that government, neighborhood and business interests have long wanted the buildings torn down.
Private and public social-service agencies said they only want the residents to have safe housing.
Roanoke Building Commissioner Ron Miller led a team onto the site Wednesday morning to alert residents to the condemnation, which followed the power cutoff Tuesday.
``Without electricity, the buildings are now totally unsafe,''and without heat, Miller said.
``It's awfully hard to have to say, `This is the law. You can't live here.' But we think it's in their best interest to find safe quarters,'' Miller said.
``There are safe units for them in the city where they can move and get on with their lives.''
The condemnation notice officially holds the Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions responsible for getting tenants out and boarding up the building.
``Our records show them as the owners,'' Miller said Wednesday.
Confusion over who should be the legally recognized owner of the property has held up resolution of overdue utility bills as well as responsibility for maintenance of the buildings.
The Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions in 1990 authorized transfer of the title to Justice Church, a recognized congregation of the denomination, led by David Hayden at Justice House.
Hayden had founded Justice House as a community of the poor based on Christian "liberation theology," which identifies Christ's mission as one devoted exclusively to the poor. As an advocate for the valley's poor and homeless, he ran a confrontational ministry that eventually alienated him not only from public and private social-service agencies, but from his own denomination as well.
By the time he demanded that title to the property be turned over from the denomination to the buildings' residents, he had been defrocked by the Mennonite Church, which nonetheless agreed to give up title to the Justice House property. That transfer, however, apparently was never recorded in Roanoke courts, so the church continues to appear as the owner in legal records.
The Mennonite Board of Missions is seeking a court ruling on ownership. If the board is found to be the legal owner, it will sell the property, said David Yoder, board president.
Pending that ruling, city records show the Mennonite board as the owner, and Miller said it would be held responsible for the structures.
Yoder said his agency is looking for a contractor to board up the building as specified in the condemnation order, though he thinks that will take a few days to accomplish.
``The notice is effective immediately,'' Yoder said, ``so we need to proceed.'' On the other hand, ``we would hate to force the tenants out in only a few hours, and we think the city is sensitive to that. But the bottom line is, the building is unsafe.''
Miller said residents should not stay in the building overnight, and ``we would hope they have all their belongings removed by the weekend.''
While the condemnation notices were being posted, another city crew arrived Wednesday morning to turn off the building's water.
Hayden on Tuesday had the water bill taken out of his name after agreeing to be responsible for the past-due amount of $1,369. The city decided to leave the water on, however, as a gesture of compassion to the residents, city spokeswoman Michelle Bono said.
However, ``once the building was condemned, leaving the water on would encourage people to stay'' despite the order to leave, Bono said Wednesday. ``We had to balance between compassion and responsibility.''
The action outraged some residents, including an unidentified woman who wondered how she would prepare formula for her infant.
Others said the notice to move was just too short.
``Most of these people, like me, get checks on the first or third of the month,'' said resident Anthony Stone. ``I'm not leaving until they throw me out.''
Though some residents said they want to stay in the buildings, several already have moved, and more are in the process of seeking new quarters.
Wendy Moore, director of Roanoke Area Ministries, which has been helping many of the residents relocate, said Wednesday that residents from all but about three of the building's 19 apartments had contacted her agency about moving.
``We've had good luck hooking them up with services,'' Moore said, adding that her agency already has helped provide rent and utility deposits for several former Justice House tenants.
by CNB