City board will consider demolition or cleanup order for Price Florist

A city board next week will consider issuing a demolition or cleanup order for Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The city staff has recommended that the structure, used for a longtime floral business, be declared unfit for human occupation or use and has requested a demolition or cleanup order within 60 days.

The city required an “emergency vacate” on May 1, according to an agenda for the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals. A notice dated May 1 and still posted on the building’s front door said the building is deemed unfit for human occupation or use. It is to remain conspicuously posted until the structure is repaired or demolished.

The complaint against the building, which is owned by Patricia Warren of Crossville, cites structural defects that increase the risk of fire, accidents, or other calamities, and it says the building is dilapidated and in “severe disrepair.” In addition, the property lacks adequate exits for fire or panic situations, according to a case summary included in the Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals agenda.

The agenda said Warren is interested in selling the property as soon as possible.

The Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals meets at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 13, in the Municipal Building Training Room.

During that meeting, the board will also consider declaring a vacant home at 117 Houston Ave. unfit for human occupation or use, and issuing a demolition order for it. The dilapidated home is an “attractive nuisance” and known to harbor vagrants, the agenda said.