A man who bought a blighted property in Macon with plans to renovate it is suing Macon-Bibb County because he says they “unconstitutionally” destroyed the site.
Eric Arnold, a renovator, says he bought the property at 1151 Sunnydale Drive in February 2022 to turn it into a home for his children or a rental property. But after months of renovation, a demolition crew attempted to install a dumpster in his front yard. The crew eventually told Arnold that the county ordered them to demolish the house.
Arnold alleges there was no notice given, nor was there a court proceeding to plead his case. He said they defied his constitutional rights. Arnold is asking for a jury to hear his case and be paid back the cost of the house, plus any expenses used to renovate the house. Christie Hebert, a lawyer representing Arnold in this case, says the exact amount is up to the jury to determine.
“Eric was actively renovating the house, investing his time, resources and considerable skills as an accomplished carpenter and home renovator,” Hebert said as she stood alongside Arnold and supporting attorney Michael Cooper in front of what was left of the property. “There simply was no reason to demolish Eric’s house, but the county demolished it anyway.”
His lawsuit says he visited the code enforcement department, mayor’s office, county attorney’s office and planning and zoning office to understand why his house was being planned for demolition. Other than confirmation that a demolition permit was issued for his house, he said he never found out their explanation and he wasn’t able to prevent the tear-down.
His house was completely demolished by Nov. 15. Code enforcement officers showed up armed to ensure that the house would be demolished, according to the lawsuit.
“Although Eric’s house was a work in progress, it certainly wasn’t a public menace requiring unilateral, extrajudicial, and expedited demolition,” Arnold’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
“I moved to Georgia with a vision of generational wealth for my kids, my grandkids,” said Arnold. “That process came to a halt.”
But Macon-Bibb County officials say adequate notice was given that the house was set to be demolished.
Chris Floore, chief communications officer for Macon-Bibb County, said a letter declaring Arnold’s house a nuisance and a warning of its demolition were both posted on the property. The letter is not legally required for this process, he said, “but we provide it as a form of notice and allow the property owner the option to fix their property.”
Code enforcement allegedly gave Arnold 20 months to fix up the house or provide permits, but they were unaware of any improvements made before the property was demolished, Floore said.
Macon-Bibb County has frequently torn down blighted buildings in Macon, and has championed the effort as the “blight fight,” seeking to put more useful homes and buildings in the place of torn down properties.
Arnold’s attorneys claim that his experience is just one example of the county’s “aggressive” effort to tear down buildings in the last few years. They say that, when the county is eyeing a property to demolish, they must first clear it with the court.
Arnold’s lawsuit asserted that the county could only move forward with demolition against an owner’s wishes if the owner fails to comply with a court order over the property. That court process is supposed to give people such as Arnold a chance to be heard. They also argued that blighted homes must be unocuppied and in very poor condition.
However, Mayor Lester Miller has the power to determine if blighted houses are nuisances without going through the court, according to the county’s code of ordinances.
The lawsuit Arnold is bringing against Macon-Bibb County so the court could recognize that “Macon-Bibb County’s secretive, expedited and summary process for demolishing houses is unconstitutional,” according to the suit.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.
