Court issues order to remove tenant

PARIS — A TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) was issued by a Superior Court judge Monday against building owner Patrick McInnis, 70, of 168 Main Street and a tenant at the same address, according to Norway Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman, after months of requests, public hearings and legal proceedings.

The property at 168 Main Street has multiple code violations and has been deemed unsafe which makes renting the units in the building illegal under the town rental ordinance.

In September of 2012, Corey-Whitman went before the Norway Planning Board to inform it that the multi-unit rental property was operating (renting units) without the required occupancy permit.

A year prior, she had discussed code violation issues with McInnis and the fact there was no occupancy permit, and was assured things would be fixed.

She returned in September, a year later, to find the same unit still rented and none of the code violations addressed.

At that point she requested the planning board forward her request for condemnation to the select board for action.

In October, Corey-Whitman went before the selectboard asking that the building be condemned and its tenants evicted. Selectmen tabled condemning the building to allow McInnis to bring the units into compliance with the town's rental occupancy ordinance.

Town Attorney Geoffrey Hole, of the law firm Bernstein Shur, had advised Corey-Whitman and the town to take the matter to court.

Corey-Whitman recommended that selectmen follow through with the condemnation of the building and evict the tenants as soon as possible due to the health and safety concerns of the building. 

In November, the court granted McInnis more time to bring the building up to code.

Corey-Whitman and Hole went to court November 28 to seek an injunction to condemn the building and evict the tenants from unsafe rental units.

Corey-Whitman said Justice Robert Clifford instead called for her and Fire Chief/Master Electrician Dennis Yates to perform additional inspections in the apartment building over the next couple of weeks and to give McInnis time to make necessary repairs. 

"The judge wants to make sure we are thorough with our inspections," Corey-Whitman explained, "so he's having us go back and inspect one more time."

On Monday, McInnis' and his tenant's time ran out. The tenant has been informed since July that she would need to find other living arrangements because her unit was rented illegally.

Both have until January 21 to comply with the court.

McInnis' compliance is to have his building remain tenant-free. The tenant has until January 21 to move.

McInnis will be allowed to stay on the property as it is his home. The only way the town can remove him is to condemn the property, an action it backed away from in the fall.

If the town condemns the property, it would be responsible for helping McInnis, who is a lifetime registered sex offender, find new housing.