The city of Bangor is suing two people, alleging they have failed to register their vacant houses.
Bangor doubled the permit fee for its vacant buildings ordinance in 2023 in an effort to reduce the number of unused buildings, while the city continues to deal with a housing crisis. The lawsuits allege the owners of two different properties have failed to register their vacant houses.
One lawsuit was filed July 31 against Patricia Jordan Thomas, who owns a house at 133 Fourth St. The other was filed on Aug. 11 against Allen Messervey, who is the representative of the estate of his mother, Sontrud Messervey, for the house at 147 Randolph Drive. Both were filed in Bangor District Court.
The lawsuits say each owner has failed to obtain a vacant building registration permit, failed to pay the associated fee and failed to arrange for a city inspection, all against Bangor ordinances.
A fine can be assessed for every day a property is not registered after the owner was notified, according to the lawsuit. That fine ranges from $100 to $5,000, under state law. The city also wants a judge to order the ordinance violations be corrected within 20 days.
Registering vacant buildings allows the city to track them and have a person to contact if there are safety or maintenance issues, city spokesperson David Warren said. The list is supposed to encourage people to take care of their property and reduce the empty properties to help with the housing shortage, he said.
There are 76 properties on the list as of Monday, Warren said.
Jordan Thomas was notified that she needed to register her vacant building on March 19, 2024, and then was sent four more letters, according to the lawsuit. On Tuesday, the three-story house on Fourth Street had overgrown grass and an abandoned camper and pickup truck.
Messervey was notified about the registration requirement on April 25, 2024 and then was sent two letters, the lawsuit said.
Jordan Thomas and Messervey did not respond to requests for comment.
Messervey’s Randolph Drive house has been empty since 2013 when the woman who lived there died, according to neighbor Harold Day, whose house shares a connected garage with the vacant one. In the years since, Messervey has “very seldom” come to the property he now owns, Day said.
While Day’s house has well-manicured landscaping, the vacant house next door can barely be seen from the road through overgrown trees and shrubs.
For years Day has complained to code enforcement about the property, the overgrown lawn and trees that obscure the house, but nothing has been done, he said.
Day has had mice in his garage as the property continues to sit empty, he said. He eventually started mowing the front yard to hopefully cut down on rodent issues.
When Day learned Tuesday about the lawsuit, he said he hopes it will make a difference and force some change.
