Barry Wexler has rat traps lining the fence that separates his home from his neighbor. He has spent thousands of dollars on flood repairs because of cascading rainwater from his neighbor’s now-bare backyard. The stench of burning trash and acrid, orange-colored smoke can force his family indoors on sunny days.
Wexler’s complaints aren’t new and were echoed by eight families from the close-knit neighborhood behind the Ironton Elementary School in North Whitehall Township during Monday’s supervisors meeting. Residents say they’ve suffered, some as long as 20 years, with quality-of-life issues because of the home at 3957 Buchanan St.
“It’s at a level that, and no offense to you, I don’t think you could comprehend until you’re there,” Wexler told the supervisors.
The property Wexler and others came to speak about has racked up 29 zoning violations or complaints, the most of any in the township, since 2014 and owner Peter Voutharis has about $2,800 in outstanding fines, according to Jim Campana, the zoning officer for the township. But it’s far from the only problem in North Whitehall.
In January, township supervisors approved a more intense property maintenance ordinance to combat blighted properties or those where an owner repeatedly defies township zoning laws. Campana said there are about 16 properties in the rural township that his office plans to or has targeted under the new law.
Supervisor Mark Hills said the township was aware of Voutharis’ property and many others, but have felt helpless in addressing neighbors’ concerns. The world of code enforcement is a civil one, meaning penalties usually involve fines that don’t motivate some owners or banks that have control over blighted properties.
“We wanted to be more hard-nosed about it,” Hills said.
Violations under the new ordinance are deemed a strict liability offense. The township can take violations that are not addressed to county court rather than the lower stakes district court. Solicitor Lisa Young said county court provides means for injunctions against property owners, the possibility for bench warrants and applications of liens against the property to ensure the township is compensated.
In the Buchanan Street matter, Young said the township has been alerted that Voutharis intends to appeal some of the violations. That process must play out in district court before North Whitehall can refer the case to county court, she said.
Wexler and Michelle Landis, another neighbor whose property borders 3957 Buchanan St., said they felt compelled to bring the matter before supervisors because nothing else seemed to be working. Landis said neighbors are regularly in contact with state police, who have virtually no recourse, and the township zoning office. They figured bringing the matter to supervisors’ attention may move it up the priority list.
Complaints about Voutharis’ property include failing to secure a trash removal company, burning garbage and building structures and fences without a permit and storing garbage in abandoned vehicles and a boat. Campana said the township receives about 100 emails from neighbors about the property every two months.
“My kids have asthma,” Landis said. “When there’s trash burning out there, they can’t go out and play. Enough is enough.”
Efforts to reach Voutharis for comment at his home were unsuccessful. A pair of zoning permits dated this year for the repair or construction of accessory structures were taped to a front window. The front door was cluttered with stickers, but the rest of the front lawn was relatively tidy.
It was the rear of the home that neighbors say has been a problem. A boat in the driveway was brimming with trash. A small skid-steer loader, the kind of construction equipment often used by landscapers, was parked in the backyard, where vegetation has been scraped away to reveal dirt and mud.
The most troublesome properties in the township are those that have been a problem for years. It’s too early yet to say if the ordinance will help, Campana said, but he said he’s hopeful it will have an impact. Hills ticked off problem properties off the top of his head along Route 145 in Laurys Station, on Rising Sun Road and on Neffs Laurys Road.
“We don’t want a reputation that you can come up to North Whitehall and no one’s going to bother you,” Hills said. “We want them to know we will — we will bother them. They will learn.”
Morning Call reporter Sarah M. Wojcik can be reached at 610-778-2283 or swojcik@mcall.com.
