Council presented resolution to declare 2400/2401 Fifth Avenue a public nuisance

The Huntington City Council heard a presentation on a proposed nuisance-abatement resolution for property at 2400 Fifth Avenue (also listed as 2401 Fifth Avenue) on Dec. 23, 2024. City Attorney Scott Dammern said affidavits from the chief building inspector and the fire marshal and photographs support a finding of public nuisance.

Dammern told the council the West Virginia Code permits a municipality to acknowledge the existence of a public nuisance and order abatement. "Once the council finds that the public nuisance exists, the city is then authorized pursuant to the resolution to proceed to seek an injunctive relief in the circuit court to require the owner to abate the nuisance," he said. He described the abatement as removal of unsafe and collapsing buildings and removal of debris from the property.

The property is identified in the resolution as owned by Everett Hanna Properties 2, LLC. Presenters said the city expects the nearby area to experience economic growth and asserted the nuisance should be removed to allow development to proceed. Several attendees and council participants described the property condition as "terrible." The transcript records the presentation and supportive remarks but does not include a formal vote in the provided excerpt.