ROCKLAND – The Rockland City Council in a special meeting, February 23, at City Hall gave a property owner William Chviruk of Worcester, Mass., 30 days to tear down his property at 33 North Main Street. The decision was made In a 4-0 vote when the council declared the building as dangerous. The property has sat derelict for years.

Chvirul originally purchased the four unit apartment property in 2014 from Camden National Bank for $13,900 with plans to renovate the building.

However, John Root, Rockland's Code enforcement Officer, said the problems with 33 N. Main Street began in 2010.

"I and the assistant fire chief inspected the building and we found numerous issues," he said.

Root said that when Chviruk bought the building he was delighted because he was going to renovate the building into a five-family dwelling. Root said project demolition of the interior began in 2015. And in the summer of that year Chviruk had the building gutted.

Root said that on Oct. 27, 2016 a building notice was made outlining the defects and what was going to need to be corrected. A date was set by which those defects needed to be corrected.

Root said as the building now sits, it is blight on the neighborhood.

"It continues to deteriorate," he said, citing bad shingles and siding.

“The windows have been broken,” he said. “They have been for a long time. They are boarded up. The roof is sagging and the inside is structurally unsound. It would be a lot of work to bring it back into a condition that would make it habitable."

Chviruk said he was a real estate broker and purchased the building as an income property. He also said that he has had a good working relationship with Root and that Root's assessment of the situation was spot-on.

Chviruk said the interior appliances, clothing and trash amounted to about four dumpster loads. It was only then that he realized how bad a shape the building was in. After gutting the building it was evident it would take a lot of work to take it back to livable conditions.

Chviruk said he was actively seeking a buyer for the structure, but to date has been unable to find a suitable one.

Root pointed out that even if the building is sold, the city would need some type of firm commitment from the buyer, so that it would not sit there for another two years before something is done.

"If you want to replace that with a four-family dwelling, at this point it can still be done," he said. "It's not a matter of taking it down and then a year or two years later putting it back up. Otherwise the plot is suitable for a single family dwelling."

The lot size is less then two-tenths of an acre.

Councilor Valli Geiger clarified that the city has a number of houses that have been standing empty and slowly rotting for a number of years.

"This building has been empty since 2010, slowly deteriorating" she said. "This is the first time we have used an ordinance that's available through the state to deal with dangerous buildings. That's why we are having a very formal process here."

Geiger pointed out that the argument could be made that the council was being unreasonable.

"But I don't think so," she said. "I think this town is full of dangerous and abandoned buildings that are rotting. We get people who buy houses here in foreclosure for $5,000 to $10,000 and strip it of everything that is salvageable and abandon it again. I think it is appropriate for Rockland to say we are going to only give you so much time to deal with an abandoned building and if you won't do it, we will do it."

In a 4-0 vote council gave Chviruk 30 days to demolish the building.

Chviruk said he had received an estimate of $11,000 to tear down the house. If he does not comply with the order the city will demolish the property placing a lien against it. If the lien is not satisfied, the city would have the right to foreclose on the property.