September 13, 2022 |
Cleanup began Monday morning on the lot at First and Hickory Avenue. After more than a year of delays and excuses, Seth “Turtle” Johnson began removing construction debris and overgrown weeds from his property.
The Town of Saratoga first asked Johnson to clear his weed-filled lot last summer. The request was ignored. In July, a resident who lives next to the lot voiced a complaint at a council meeting about how the condition of the lot was harming the neighborhood. After allowing Johnson more time to clean up the property, council issued a notice of violation. The notice carried a deadline of September 22nd to comply.
On Monday, a contractor hired by Johnson began clearing the site using a skid steer. Johnson said that the contractor was hired months ago, but staffing issues delayed the work. This prevented the job from getting started sooner. Still not expressing any concern about the complaints neighboring property owners, Johnson said the town council was aware of his difficulties.
Pictured: File photo of the demolition of Mom’s Kitchen in 2019. Photo credit: Emma Diercks/Bigfoot 99.
Although one resident appeared before council to lodge a complaint about the property this summer, Johnson, a local attorney, never appeared before the town council to state his case. He allowed Councilman Ron Hutchins speak for him at council meetings. With complaints from neighbors and no obvious work being done, the council acted last week. A vote to issue a second notice of violation was unanimous, with Councilman Hutchins joining other council members to put the property owner on notice. Johnson told Bigfoot 99 he had planned to clean his property on his own time, not the town’s.
Johnson plans to build an office complex on the site sometime in the future.
Residents have not complained that the lot is undeveloped, only that it has been allowed to deteriorate. The lot was clear of the four-to-six-foot-high weeds and debris by late Monday afternoon. Time will tell if his “slow and steady” approach includes buildings or more plants growing on the property.
