COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Columbus has shut down a home on the city’s west side it says was serving as a drug house.
According to Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, the house on the 100 block of North Burgess Avenue, is the 10 drug-related nuisance property the city has boarded up on the west side this year.
The city has a temporary restraining order to shut down the house, Klein said in a press release. Anyone living at the home had until Tuesday to leave, according to court documents.
After the filing of the restraining order, the city attorney’s office and the property owner reached an agreement to vacate and shutter the building, with negotiations continuing toward a settlement of the case while the property remains boarded up, according to Klein.
According to court documents, Columbus Police responded to the home on several calls over the last number of years, including:
- ShotSpotter alert on Sept. 2, 2020
- Body found on Feb. 1, 2021
- Report of a fight on Feb. 22, 2021
- Domestic violence incident on March 1, 2021
- Drug bust where more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, cocaine, and other drugs were seized, as well as three semi-automatic weapons and nearly $1,400, during the week of April 12, 2021
“It’s unfortunate that the conditions at this property deteriorated to such an extent that we had to file a complaint with the court, but this is an instance where the property owner eventually agreed to work with us,” said Assistant City Attorney Zach Gwin, the Zone Initiative attorney for the city’s west side, said in the press release. “We hope that he’ll continue to negotiate in good faith to find a permanent solution that brings his property back into compliance and protects the health, safety, and well-being of the neighborhood.”