HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — What does it take for a county to address a nuisance issue? That's what some people were asking our newsroom after we reported on a problem home in Houston County being deemed 'a nuisance.'
This week, District Attorney William Kendall asked a judge to declare 103 Todd Road a public nuisance.
Since 2016, the home has received over 200 complaints.
Court documents show Houston County Sheriff's Office responded to the home for complaints of drug distribution, drug overdoses, theft and other crimes.
"Should this house have been considered a nuisance many years ago? Absolutely, 100%, no doubt about it," William Kendall shared.
Now that he's taken that action, thanks to the work of Houston County Sheriff's narcotics division, it leaves the question, Is there a legal standard for a county to declare a home a nuisance?
To find our answer, our sources were District Attorney Will Kendall, the Houston County code of ordinances, and Georgia state law.
The Houston County code of ordinance, defines the meaning of nuisance as a wrong that arises from unhealthful or unlawful use of a persons property and goes on to say it hurts the public continuously or at frequent intervals. This is usually left to the county attorney to handle.
However, a city or district attorney can handle a nuisance as well.
Under Georgia state law, one of these attorneys can file an abatement to have the court declare a property a public nuisance.
"The number of criminal drug investigations that have either had a nexus or a direct correlation to that residence, that led it to my plate where I dealt with it," Kendall shared.
Kendall says abatement is one of the least invasive ways a government can declare a home a nuisance, but there are other avenues used to take a property like condemning it or using eminent domain.
"At the end of the day it is not my decision whether or not something is declared a nuisance it is a court," Kendall shared.
So, we can answer our question, yes, there is a legal standard a county can take to declare a home a nuisance.
Kendall shares that as the district attorney, he doesn't take on many cases that involve homes. He says the number of complaints needed for him to take it on are circumstantial.