City Council approved more than $700,000 in last year's budget for demolition equipment and two additional Solid Waste operators. Public Works Director Alan Harder says the city spent the past year buying equipment, training employees and developing demolition procedures with the City Marshal's Office.
City Marshal Jacob Diaz says the goal is to remove unsafe structures that attract trespassers, create fire hazards and put nearby residents at risk. "So this way, we eliminate that additional cost to the taxpayer by doing it internally," Diaz said.
The process has several steps. The Marshal's Office identifies dangerous properties and notifies owners, who get a chance to fix the violations. If they don't, the case goes to the Condemnation Appeals Commission. Owners can explain why the property looks the way it does, and neighbors can speak for or against it. The commission then decides whether to demolish or give the owner more time, and it meets monthly now to speed things up. Owners keep legal ownership of the land after a demolition.
For people living beside a burned-out house in Amarillo, the city says the program means faster teardowns. Diaz says the city is also looking for volunteers to join the commission board.
The city has declared about 112 properties dangerous structures, and exactly one has come down under the new program so far.