A property that city officials condemned last summer and has a history of criminal activity is no longer standing behind the Sequim Civic Center.

A City of Sequim crew demolished the home that officials termed “blighted” at 169 W. Spruce St. as part of an agreement between homeowner Ron Fairclough and the city for the Sequim Service Fest event.

Sequim City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross said Fairclough agreed to Habitat for Humanity volunteers demolishing and cleaning up his properties.

Habitat organizers asked the city to monitor deconstruction, she said, but for safety reasons the city partnered with Fairclough to demolish the home.

“When we looked into our records, we realized that due to the house’s age, we had no plans on file and could not determine a safe way to manually deconstruct the home,” she said.

Service Fest organizers said remains of the home and garbage from the property and Fairclough’s neighboring properties at 153 and 161 W. Spruce St., filled 12 truckloads to the dump.

This week, Care-A-Vanners, volunteers who traveled via RVs for Sequim’s neighborhood revitalization projects, helped pick up the site.

Fairclough demolished 161 W. Spruce St. last year, and continues to reside in 153 W. Spruce St.

He met Habitat’s income requirements for assistance, Nelson-Gross said, and his demolished house at 169 W. Spruce St. was subject to code enforcement actions in recent years.

“Under Washington law, we are able to assist low income persons when it is in the best interests of the general public,” she said.

Fairclough could not be reached for comment for this story.

Calls for service

Over the years, Sequim Police Department reported to Fairclough’s properties hundreds of times.

A previous Gazette story revealed police responded to the properties 144 times from Jan. 1, 2010-Dec. 16, 2014, for reported issues, including animal abuse, domestic violence, assault, parking violations, monitoring a sex offender, child abuse, theft, burglary, noise complaints, burglary, drug violations, noise complaints, and more. However, only a small percentage resulted in criminal cases.

“It’s been a persistent problem for the city as a whole,” said Det. Sgt. Darrell Nelson, who oversees the city’s code enforcement program.

In the last year-and-a-half, Nelson reports police received 34 calls for service to 169 W. Spruce St., with 27 of those from Jan. 1, 2017-Aug. 25, 2017, when it was labeled “condemned.”

From last August to June 6, when the home was demolished, Nelson said calls came in for disturbances and warrant arrests because people were sneaking into the home.

“We had actually been traveling down our code enforcement process with (Fairclough) with writing citations and giving him opportunities to clean up the property,” Nelson said.

“The good out of this is he took advantage to partner with Habitat and clean up the blighted property. He is taking steps to remediate.”

Code Enforcement and its officer Lisa Hopper began operating under the Sequim Police Department in March 2017, and Nelson said they’ve been applying a new process looking at “blighted” properties and seeking remediation through conversations rather than citations.

Conversations

Fairclough has had long discussions about his properties with the City of Sequim in an effort to sell them.

Former City Attorney Craig Ritchie said the city’s last offer in 2008 was $120,000 per lot, but Fairclough said he wanted $570,000 total.

City staff and councilors discussed renting 161 and 169 W. Spruce St., to park up to 10 vehicles in 2015, but former city manager Steve Burkett said negotiations were called off due to a stalemate.

Sequim sought $850 per month but Fairclough wanted $1,100 per month.

Burkett previously said that renting the properties was more about improving the neighborhood and less about creating parking spaces.

Fairclough previously said his vision for purchasing the properties, 161 W. Spruce St. in 1980 and 169 W. Spruce St. in 2007, was to create a space for Sequim Laboratory of Dental Arts.

However, he said bad renters cost him tens-of-thousands of dollars from lost rent and stolen property.

Reach the City of Sequim, 152 W. Cedar St. at 360-683-3311.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.

Along with a demolished home at 169 W. Spruce St., volunteers with Habitat for Humanity removed trash from 153 and 161 W. Spruce St., which have been targeted by the City of Sequim for cleanup behind the Sequim Civic Center. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash