KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Frustrated neighbors in KCK are tired of looking at a cluster of four vacant homes, which sit right across the county line from the Woodside Racquet Club and new luxury apartments in Johnson County.
“We have this first house that’s been empty for the last year and a half. This house right here at 4606 has been vacant since at least 2014, if not earlier. There are posted signs on it from 2015,” Bill Siggins told 41 Action News.
Siggins has become sort of the spokesperson for his Spring Valley neighborhood in KCK.
He said his neighbors want answers on when the eyesore houses will be torn down.
They sit at the top of a hill at 46th & Eaton.
Los Angeles developer Blair Tanner owns the houses and also owns Woodside Racquet Club and the Woodside Village apartments next door in Westwood
The apartments have come under criticism for construction issues that caused leaks and mold.
At least two of the homes have signs posted listing violations, and one structure was deemed unfit to live in.
“We can’t allow four or five unfit homes that have sat vacant for years, that are fire hazards, to cause issues with people who do live right next door to them,” Siggins complained.
That family did not want to be on camera, but told 41 Action News talks of demolition with Tanner have gone on for nearly two years with no action.
Woodside told 41 Action News the homes were already condemned or abandoned upon purchase, and demo is scheduled in the next 30 days.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County told us so far there is no demo permit on file, nor has the company submitted an application for the county to review future development plans.
If someone wants to demo in Wyandotte County, they can get a permit up until the day before.
Doing it privately, without county help, is a faster process.
“If he is planning to do something, we need to know because Spring Valley has a master plan,” Siggins said.
The U.G. says Woodside wants to turn the area into a parking lot, which Spring Valley folks would be opposed to.
The one family who still lives on the hill says Woodside has been negotiating a price to buy out their home, but that hasn’t gone any farther than conversations, either.
“It’s time something is done,” Siggins said.
An employee with the county codes department told 41 Action News they can’t enforce a home just because it’s vacant.
They say they can only address exterior issues, and have since done that. They say they haven’t asked Woodside to go inside the homes without cause.
