ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 21, 1996 TAG: 9610210088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
NO LAW IN Charlottesville can stop Pauline Hamlin from living in a station wagon where her home previously stood.
Pauline Hamlin lives in a neighborhood of one-story brick houses with flower beds and well-manicured lawns.
But for 18 years, her home has been a station wagon parked on an overgrown lot where her house stood before it was destroyed by fire.
Neighbors for years have pleaded with the city to do something about what they consider an eyesore, but to no avail. Officials say building codes, health standards, criminal statutes, zoning regulations and city ordinances just don't seem to apply in this case.
``I am more irritated with the city's response than I am with Polly Hamlin's actions,'' said Denny Maupin, president of a neighborhood watch group.
In a recent letter, Assistant City Manager Leon Churchill told Maupin that the city zoning ordinance ``has never been interpreted to prevent a person from living on a residential lot because that person lacks a conventional roof over his or her head.''
Hamlin, 66, declined to be interviewed by the Daily Progress. But in a 1994 interview, she said: ``I have a right to exist just like every other human being. I have done the best I can.''
Hamlin receives a $500 monthly Social Security check, according to court records, and works for a political polling company in Charlottesville. With little more than her car heater, she has survived bitterly cold winter storms.
Hamlin took control of the house after she and Perry Ransom Hamlin were divorced in 1969. She struggled to pay the mortgage and other bills, but was getting into trouble with the law, according to court papers.
Hamlin's house burned on March 29, 1978, just hours before it was to be auctioned so her creditors could split the proceeds. Robert Wayne Tonker, a police officer who had won a $22,533 judgment against Hamlin in a defamation lawsuit, had obtained a court order to put the house on the auction block.
The day before the scheduled auction, Tonker took out a fire insurance policy on the house. Six hours before the house was to be sold, it was gutted by fire.
Hamlin was charged with felony arson, but a judge dismissed the case because of a lack of evidence.
That wasn't Hamlin's only brush with the law. Her record includes convictions of impersonating a physician, contempt of court, assault and grand larceny.
But she is more known for her involvement in legal matters on the civil docket. She has been party to at least 15 lawsuits in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, ranging in subject from personal injury cases to police brutality and defamation.
In 1994, the city cited Hamlin as being in violation of nine sections of the building code. She appealed her case, and the State Building Code Technical Review Board threw out the citations. The board said she could not violate the city's building code because there was no building on her property.
``As far as building codes go, it's a done deal. There's nothing else I can do,'' said Grover Smiley, the city's fire marshal and building official.
Churchill said the city is looking for other solutions.
``The city's objective is to give some satisfaction to the neighborhood,'' he said. ``This is not punitive. We are looking for the best situation for her, too.''
The city's goal remains seeing ``typical housing'' built on Hamlin's lot, Churchill said. City officials have discussed the situation with the now-defunct Charlottesville Housing Improvement Program, the Albemarle Housing Improvement Program and Habitat For Humanity, but nothing has been accomplished.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB