There is house at 502 Belmont Ave E that has been sitting vacant for over three years. You may recall that this house had a fire a few years ago due to vagrants who left an candle unattended inside.
The neighbors at the Lamplighter Condo building across the street are trying to get the owner of the property, Kyle Clark, to clean up the junk and litter in the yard. We don’t have Kyle Clark’s information, so we have started contacting the city and Catalyst Partners (the real estate company representing Clark) for help.
I wanted to post my experience here so that others who are concerned about the house can do the same. If you have any information about the house or who to contact about it, please leave a comment!
CATALYST PARTNERS
I contacted Catalyst Commercial Partners through their website and got a response from Robert Regan stating:
“Catalyst is not the owner of the property. The owner is in the process of trying to sell the properties. After the fire, the owner has been in a struggle with his insurance company to receive his coverage money to fix the house. This should be resolved soon since we have an offer on the property.”
I responded to him asking him to pass on a message to the Kyle Clark that we would like to have the junk removed from the house. He assured me that he would pass on the message, but did not give me Kyle Clark’s contact information. I don’t think it would hurt for other people to contact Robert Regan and request the same.
How to Contact Catalyst Commercial Partners
- Call: (206) 7226-3451
- Send a message online: http://catalystcommercialpartners.com/index.cfm/page/34321/CONTACT.html
- Visit in person: 225 Terry Ave N, Suite 200A, Seattle, WA 98109
- Email Robert Regan: [email protected]
SEATTLE CITY’S CUSTOMER SERVICE BUREAU
I also sent a message to the Seattle City Customer Service Bureau about the house using their online form, and got the following response. I will let you know when the Planning & Development department gets back to me.
June 18, 2010
Dear Mrs. Allison Bilas:
I have forwarded your concern to the following City agency:
Subject: DPD – Investigate owner refusing to clean up junk and litter on private property
Department: Planning & DevelopmentPlease allow 10 business days to receive a reply from the department. If you should need further assistance or if for any reason you are not satisfied with the response from the department, please reply directly to this email or call the number listed below and a Complaint Investigator will be assigned to make sure the matter is properly resolved.
Please do not change the subject line when responding to this email.
Thank you for contacting the Customer Service Bureau (CSB).
Sincerely,
Wayne Lennon
City of Seattle
Customer Service Bureau
(206) 684-CITY(2489)
How to Contact Seattle City’s Customer Service Bureau
- Through their online form: http://www.seattle.gov/customerService/request.htm
- Call: (206) 684-2489
MAYOR MCGINN
I also sent a message to Mayor McGinn through Twitter and included a link to photos of the house. Here’s the message and response:
@SparklingAlli: @mayormcginn Who do I contact about getting this abandoned house cleaned up? http://bit.ly/aGXdE2
@MayorMcGinn: @SparklingAlli Good question. I would check with Alan Justad in the Department of Planning and Development as they do code enforcement.
Alan Justad works for the Planning and Development office, who is supposed to be getting back to me through the Seattle City Customer Service Bureau. If I don’t hear from them in the next week, I will try to track him down and will post his contact information here!
How to Contact Mayor McGinn
- Send a letter: Mayor’s Office, Seattle City Hall 7th floor, 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124-4749
- Call the Mayor’s office: (206) 684-4000
- Send a message via Twitter: @mayormcginn
PHOTOS OF 502 BELMONT AVE E
Here are some photos I took of the house across the street that you can use when contacting these agencies.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparklingallison/sets/72157624170671459/
*** UPDATE WITH KYLE CLARK’S CONTACT INFORMATION ***
A reader from the blog contacted me with an address for Kyle Clark via King Country records! Thank you! Here’s where you can find it:
Parcel Viewer main search page:
http://www5.kingcounty.gov/parcelviewer/viewer/kingcounty/vi
Parcel Viewer record for 502 Belmont Ave E (w/additional property info by clicking on the “My Property Detail” button):
http://info.kingcounty.gov/Assessor/eRealProperty/Dashboard.
From the record click on the “My Tax Bill” button; on the new page click on the Search in the “Real Property Tax” section which produces this link to Clark’s mailing address:
https://payments.kingcounty.gov/metrokc.ecommerce.propertyta
Get a truck, and get paid 100.00 and clean it up …Might be the easy way, if the goal is removing all the junk.
Or continue to write more letters and steam and grind and glare and clamp and clench and churn and complain …
Signed: Practical guy with Curls
Public records – owner is on tax statements, county records, public
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Compliance/Filing_a_Complaint/def
See:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Compliance/Codes_We_Enforce/defau
I would suggest (if appropriate) that you mention:
“Vacant buildings open to unauthorized entry.”
In decades past DPD has needed some prodding from citizens to actually act on complaints. Most landlords respond promptly, but those who know how to work the system can string the system along for a very long time.
That would not address illegal occupation, if that’s an issue. I have in the past fastened down boards over windows on abandoned property (having checked that the building was empty), to deter squatting in buildings near me. Yes it may be heartless to prevent people squatting in houses, but once you’ve seen a bathtub full of shit (full, actual human shit) you might see the public health arguments.
Well, Andrew, a bath tub full, yes full of shit is the line I least expected.
You deserve a prize, that will ring on the Hill for a great while. On my way to the cop event, East Precinct, to get a free apple and a free hot dog, will chant a bit on the way.
Thanks he said, shaking his curls and chanting.
That phone numbers NG. Try a real phone number K?
@Mike with curls Are you offering to clean it up for $100? :) There’s a LOT of junk there!
@andrew Taylor Thank you for the link! I will file a complaint and ask my neighbors to do the same. That’s the same organization that should have my complaint from the Seattle City Customer Service Bureau.
@weekilter Which phone number is incorrect?
$100.00 is theory – offering to do it for some pay is the tactic.
Maybe the owner is an elderly widow, who is dealing with severe health problems and just waiting for a solution from big strong men like you … good neighbor.
The mayor need some good PR ….. get him there for a photo op …. pitching junk in to the truck …. along with Andrew.
A recorders office search on Kyle Clark reveals that this specific property has already been cited by the City of Seattle in early 2009 for numerous code violations. Two different addresses are listed in that document for Mr. Clark. It appears the city is quite familiar with this property, however they appear not to have enforced the threatened fines detailed in the Notice to Mr. Clark.
Here’s the link to the Violation Letter:
http://146.129.54.93:8193/imgcache/OPR20090305000514-1-5.pdf
Go to http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/default.aspx
and enter 502 BELMONT AVE E to view a series of outstanding violations, many of them for
“Inspected vacant property, open to entry and weather.” (i.e. open to squatters and hence a fire and public health hazard)
See http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/Project.aspx?id=101
Initial complaint was Jan 06, 2009, case was not resolved, sent to Law Department on Jun 08, 2009, and it’s now June 2010!
This mirrors my experience with DPD from decades ago. One might expect the law actions to be voided and restarted due to DPD misfilings, and that savvy owners can stall forever.
This is the number that needs correction… looks like there’s an extra digit in there.
How to Contact Catalyst Commercial Partners
Call: (206) 7226-3451
Andrew, I was looking at the same thing. If you check the box for “Results for all addresses at this site” you will also get the results for the other 2 houses (504 & 508, just north of 502) owned by Kyle Clark.
And some of those issues/complaints were previously discussed in comments when there was a fire in the building in 2008 and covered by sparklingallison here and Justin here.
This really needs to get cleaned up, this place is an eyesore, I live a block away from it.
Do you have any idea how many used needles are there? How filth? Sorry, the owner and the real estate firm should be forced to clean it up. Those of us who live by this trash heap can schedule our block party while watching these scum clear this crap. If we’re forced to clean it, I saw we dump it on THEIR lawn. Make their neighbors look at this crap and we’ll see how soon he changes his tune.
I and others of the tenants in our building neighboring this property have called police frequently regarding criminal activity at this property. The police have repeatedly said that the owner, the notorious Kyle Clark, refuses to allow the police to enforce no trespassing on the property. He refuses to erect a barrier fence (relatively cheap). Police have said conditions in the house and yard are so bad “You don’t want us to describe it.” The property is a public safety and public Heath danger on a daily basis. A half dozen police cars were there this week on a call. All of this is due to the grotesque negligence, irresponsibility, and I don’t care attitude of one Kyle Hunter.
Friday, when I got home, a group of people were standing by the property. Turn out the were from Capitol Hill Housing out of concern for the property. You can send comments to Betsy Hunter, director of Real Estate Development at [email protected]. And remember, they are allies.
Keep the pressure on and get this public menace eliminated.
Mike with curls: Read the flipping article. The owners name is KYLE., not Mable.
Thanks to Allison for sharing this on CHS and to everybody for keeping this conversation as civil and productive as possible. Posts about a specific address can be a legal — and ethical — dilemma so I appreciate the way this post is growing.
I started gathering information on the property last week related to recent police activity there. It’s been on my radar but having a police document in hand has made getting additional info a little easier. We’ll follow up this community report with additional reporting. I hope we someday get to read a post from Allison or I get to talk to her about getting the problem solved.
If you have additional information, you can always reach us at [email protected] or (206) 399-5959.
An additional avenue for reporting is the public health hazard aspect. If there are rats and mice on the property, accumulations of garbage and solid waste on private property, or other public health hazards, use the following online reporting form:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/solidwas
My experience has been that they do respond to inquiries and will investigate.
After reading the addtional information that’s been added to this string, it’s clear that this property (and the adjacent parcels owned by the same guy) are a problem that the city seems to have put on the back burner. The squeaky wheel theory will do wonders. I think direct appeals to Mayor McGinn and some of the local media (Get Jesse, anyone?) would help the cogs move faster.
Yes, read the article. That explains so many confusing comments on other posts.
I agree that this property is a boil in the neighborhood, and am quite surprised that DPD has not taken effective action. Over the past few years, I have reported several derelict properties (and shrubbery blocking sidewalks) to DPD using their handy online reporting form, and have always found them to be quite efficient at investigating complaints in a timely manner, following up to ensure compliance, and taking action (fines) if there is no response from the property owner.
But this seems like an especially tough case, with an irresponsible property owner who obviously doesn’t give a damn. The DPD site currently shows 4 active complaints, and one of them (#1020547) says that the case was sent to the Law Department on February 4, 2010, so something is happening “behind the scenes” to get the property cleaned up. It would probably help for the neighbor group to contact the City Attorney’s office to see what they are doing to get the problems resolved.
Thanks to everyone with their comments and suggestions. I will follow up on every one of them!
In order for the squeeky wheel to get the grease, I would appreciate it if those of you who are concerned about this property take some kind of action to notify the city about it too. The more the merrier!
Thanks neighbors!
1) The Assistant City Attorney liaison to the East Precinct:
http://www.seattle.gov/law/precinct_liaisons/
Jim Kenny
(206) 386-4084
james.kenny@seattle.gov
2) Our Neighborhood Service Center Coordinator:
Thomas Whittemore
Thomas.Whittemore@seattle.gov
Phone (206) 684-4574
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nsc/capitolhill.htm
3) Our Crime Prevention Coordinator:
http://www.seattle.gov/police/precincts/east/prevention.htm
4) East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition
http://www.sngi.org/neighborhood/epcpc.php
5) Capitol Hill Community Council:
http://capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org/
i wouldn’t get too excited that it says “sent to law dept” because when i was checking the DPD complaint website last year one of the complaints had reached that status and nothing ever happened. DPD seems utterly incapable of actually doing something about this house in a timely manner. i don’t expect anything to happen unless you all create too much attention that forces the owner to do something about it (our calling the cops incessantly and filing DPD complaints accomplished very little). the police never wanted to do anything about it, nor any other city agency, besides trying to board it up a few times. my neighbor always suspected the owner wanted to wait for the squatters to burn it down for good. i really feel for those of you who may still live next to the place. i’ve moved – thank god.
Here’s an email trail about this property:
Mr. Borg:
Thank you for your email. This mater is not stuck: I anticipate having an order of abatement entered on July 1. The defendant has a 30-day right-of-appeal to King County Superior Court and because of this right, demolition would occur sometime after August 1.
Patrick Downs
Assistant City Attorney
Seattle City Attorney’s Office
600 4th Avenue, 4th floor
P.O. Box 94769
Seattle, WA 98124-4769
Phone: 206-684-8616
FAX: 206-684-8284
patrick.downs@seattle.gov
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: This message may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product doctrine, or by other confidentiality provisions. If this message was sent to you in error, any use, disclosure, or distribution of its contents is prohibited. If you receive this message in error, please contact me at the telephone number or e-mail address listed above and delete this message without printing, copying, or forwarding it. Thank you.
From: turbine9 [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:45 AM
To: Downs, Patrick
Cc: Clark, Sally; CSB and Mayor (imailagent)
Subject: PUBLIC EMERGENCY: 502 Belmont, Capitol Hill
Dear Mr. Downs,
I understand that you have been copied on the correspondence describing our situation at 502 Belmont Ave. E, and the litany of problems with this abandoned property at this location on Capitol Hill – so I will not repeat any of that. The correspondence trail has been listed below.
I would like to know when the demo order for this property will be issued so it can be torn down and the problem solved. It seems the issue is with you at this time as a city attorney in the Law Department. The other City departments are doing the best job they can putting lipstick on this pig of a property. They painted over the giant “FUCK” graffiti on Saturday just after the eight-car police incident that occurred at 9:45am at the property. But the City staff can go no further to actually solve the problem. People are scared just walking by on the public sidewalk.
If the tear-down is imminent then great, but if it’s stuck or in “status” in some process then I want to know because unleashing a massive citizen campaign will be easy to get it un-stuck. All the citizens, residents, condo-owners, apartment renters, and both condo and apartment building managers in the area are foaming over this.
Thank-you for your help.
Sincerely,
R.C. Borg
Capitol Hill Resident
********************************
June 14, 2010
Dear R.C.:
Thank you for keeping the Customer Service Bureau updated about the activities at 502 Belmont Ave E. I forwarded the information to the Law Department, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and to Councilmember Sally Clark’s office. I understand the inspector for DPD, Patrick Reed, visited the site today and requested an expedited response from the crew responsible for boarding up unsecured properties. I hope you will see an improvement soon.
Dear Cheryl,
Thank you for the information. As I write this on Saturday morning at 9.45am there are 8 Seattle Police Cars at this property, light flashing, involving transients & a drug dealing incident or something…this really is a huge problem.
Sincerely,
R.C. Borg
On Jun 11, 2010, at 12:40 PM, CSB and Mayor (imailagent) wrote:
June 11, 2010
Dear R.C.:
You requested the name of the attorney and judge assigned to 502 Belmont Ave E. Patrick Downs is the attorney and he can be reached at 206-684-8616 or by email at patrick.downs@seattle.gov. Mr Downs has read your previous emails. A judge has not yet been assigned to the case. I hope this information is helpful to you.
Begin forwarded message:
From: turbine9
Looking at the owner’s past violations, it appears that he had voluntarily complied more than once, so it is confusing as to why he is so resistant to comply now with this property.
It’s a shame that the original fire didn’t burn it to the ground.
The junk outside is really the least of anyone’s problems here. If the house is still being squatted in and accessible by druggies and vagrants, it is going to continue to be a neighborhood nuisance. I don’t even live anywhere near it but I have walked and rode my bicycle by there and was disturbed by what I saw. It is definitely a concern for public safety and health. There are drug paraphernalia (needles, small baggies, etc) on the sidewalk and in the street in front of this house. There are always people coming and going. Most of my encounters with the people I have seen entering or coming from this house have resulted in me being frightened for my safety and well-being.
This house needs boarded up TIGHT or torn/burnt down. I don’t understand why it takes 10+_inspections (all of which failed) to realize that the condition here is not getting any better.
What is the hold up?
-JP
Hello all, I am Tony chase with Affordable Environmental,inc. We have the contract to abate and demo this home. The abatement is complete and as of 5pm today, September 15, the house has been torn down. within one week there will be nothing left of it but memories.
Regards,
Affordable Environmental,inc.