Ravenswood Homeowner Cited for Debris, Deteriorating Roof

Neighborhood complaints that raccoons freely come and go from an all but abandoned house in Ravenswood and a police report that says officers heard raccoons in the attic while investigating a burglary at the empty house don't pass muster to cite the owner for municipal health code violations, city officials said.

Plainly visible debris on the lot and a deteriorating garage roof, on the other hand, have led to citations that will require Christina Mouradian, owner of the home at ., to appear in court in late July.

"That is basically what we can do right now," said Nancy Welch, community development director with oversight of the building and safety division that enforces the city's property maintenance code. "We are limited to what staff can observe and document to take to court."

The property maintenance violations can be observed without venturing on the property, which is key, as the owner's permission is required to go on the premises to inspect a property, according to Welch.

The critters, a city health department issue, are a different matter, said city attorney Alan Kesner. Although the city's health inspector has been to the property, he has not spied the raccoons that neighbors say they have seen entering and exiting the empty home, according to Kesner.

"They're looking. They're paying attention," Kesner said. "They haven't found anything yet that warrants health department action."

"Nobody has seen (the raccoons) ... and hearing it doesn't count," Kesner said, in reference to Wauwatosa police noting in a report on aat the empty home that police "heard raccoons running around in the attic."

Absent observed evidence to document that raccoons have indeed taken up residence in the home police describe as uninhabitable, Kesner said, the city health department can't compel an inspection of the home to determine if its condition is a health risk.

Neighbors complained to city staff and elected officials about the home and its condition – a source of ongoing complaints for nearly a decade – after its abandoned state enticed a man walking by to enter and steal 45 Spanish figurines valued at up to $500 each. Mouradian, 49, declined to press charges against the suspect, a 55-year-old Milwaukee man who was arrested on burglary charges after his wife turned him in to police.

Since the home became news, little about its appearance has changed, with two exceptions. The front storm door which had been ajar is now shut and a plastic child's basketball hoop that neighbors say lay toppled in the driveway for seven years is now upright. 

Neighbors said Mouradian moved out of the house about two years ago. She currently lives with her parents in West Allis.

As for the property maintenance code violations, Kesner said, Mouradian must appear in a court, where a municipal judge will determine the next course of action to bring the property into compliance with the city's property maintenance code.

Under the city property maintenance code, property owners issued citations for code violations may be ordered to pay a forfeiture for each citation, an amount  that is determined by a municipal judge. If property owners fail to comply with orders to bring the property and its buildings into compliance, the city may step in and do the work and charge the owner for cost of repairs, cleanup or other work to bring the lot and its buildings up to code.