Eight Homes in City's Sights

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Goldsboro NC News

By Anessa Myers

Published in News on August 21, 2007 01:45 PM

Eight homes in city's sights Members of the Goldsboro City Council approved

condemnation of eight houses at their meeting Monday night, held two public

hearings on rezoning and honored a general at their meeting Monday.

Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, former commander of United Nations forces in

Afghanistan and a Goldsboro native, received the key to the city from Mayor Al

King.

Eikenberry, a Goldsboro High School graduate, listened to his introduction by

the mayor and jokingly noted that it must have been written by his mother. He

also joked that if he didn't speak well to the audience, that Councilman Bob

Waller, one of his former high school coaches, might make him run laps.

Eikenberry, who was to speak to the Goldsboro Rotary Club today, said he

thought it was important to come back to his hometown and perform as much public

outreach as possible. He now serves as deputy chairman of NATO's military

committee.

He thanked the council and the residents of Goldsboro for their strong support

of the military and encouraged young people to consider joining the military to

help protect the United States.

King then presented Eikenberry with the key to the city and urged him to visit

as often as possible.

" I don't give this out very often, " King said. " This is your home. I'm sure

you have a key to your home. This is a spare key to get you in anytime you want

to. "

" We are so proud of you and glad you don't forget about us, " Waller said.

During the business portion of the meeting, council addressed the issue of

substandard housing.

Nine houses had been scheduled for condemnation this week, but the owner of

one of the structures -- at 425 Wayne Ave. -- managed to bring it up to code

within the last month, Chief Building Inspector Ed Cianafarra said.

But the other eight will be torn down, he said.

Seven of the eight owners live outside the Goldsboro area and " that's part of

the problem, " with getting them brought up to building standards, King said.

Officials have been trying for several years to get rid of substandard

structures in the city, or to get them up to code.

The first condemned house, at 700 Crawford St., has ceilings that are caving

in and mold and mildew throughout the house, Cianfarra said. The property owner

resides in Raleigh.

The second house is at 1014 N. St. and is not feasible for repair, with a

hole in the roof causing severe mold and mildew. The house also has asbestos

shingles, Cianfarra said. The owner of the property is the only one among the

eight who lives in the city.

Located at 413 W. Mulberry St., the third dwelling has extensive water damage,

mold, mildew and rotten wood. The owner lives in Durham.

The owner of the house at 501 Dail St. lives in California. The house has

major damage to the roof and rafters, Cianfarra noted.

The fifth house is at 113 E. Dewey St., and has major water, roof, and window

damage. The owner lives in Washington, D.C.

The sixth dwelling, at 108 N. Slocumb St., has rotting siding and porch and

foundation damage. The owner lives in Fort Washington, Md.

A house at 314 Whitfield Drive is owned by a resident of Oakland, Calif. It

has rotted wood and broken windows.

A house at 710 Slaughter St., has a deteriorating foundation among other

problems. The owner, who lives in Raleigh, is trying to sell the property, but

has been unsuccessful to date.

In other business, council also conducted two public hearings involving

requests to rezone property for business. No one spoke during either hearing.

Harry Ivey and Ivey/Swain have requested rezoning from industrial and business

park to shopping center for property on the east side of Oak Forest Road between

U.S. Highway 70 and Gateway Drive.

Seventy West Commercial Park requested re-zoning of its property on the north

side of U.S. 70 West between Springwood Drive and J & L Drive from general

business and residential to general industry.

Council also decided to include more planning items on the consent agenda,

based on the commission's discretion, to save time during the council meetings.

These items could include site plans that don't request modifications; site

plans that do request modifications, but are unanimously recommended for

approval by the planning commission; site plans the don't abut residentially

zoned properties or wouldn't have a substantial impact on adjoining properties

or the neighborhood; re-zonings without any opposition and unanimously

recommended (excluding conditional district re-zonings); and minor text

amendments to zoning code.

The council also approved budget amendments, a computerized signal system,

engineering design services for improvements to the Neuse River intake and a

traffic signal to be placed at the intersection of Patetown Road and Country Day

Road.

By Anessa Myers

Published in News on August 21, 2007 01:45 PM

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