By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac City Council set a public hearing for 7 p.m. at its Feb. 28 meeting to consider declaring a vacant house at 508 New York Ave. a public nuisance.
Building Official James Bradford said the structure owned by Francis Caruthers of Sturgis was condemned several months ago.
A fire on Oct. 30, 2004, further damaged the partially-boarded property.
The owner obtained upgraded permits for exterior repair, but no repairs had been started as of Feb. 8.
The original permit was obtained April 30, 2004, and upgraded in December to cover additional costs of repairs due to the fire.
The two-story, wood-framed, single-family residence was built around 1885.
The house contains about 744 square feet of living area. The home was vacant at the time of inspection for the Feb. 7 code enforcement report, with no electrical, water or gas services being provided.
Most windows are missing or broken.
All doors are gone or damaged.
Siding is missing in several areas and needs to be replaced. The home needs to be painted. There are soffit and fascia missing on the rear roof's lower section.