DPW: Demolishing abandoned buildings requires funding

EVEN though the Department of Public Works has the authority to demolish abandoned buildings deemed unsafe under Saipan P.L. 6-45, implementing such operations requires funding, DPW building code official and acting structural engineer Weston Thomas Deleon Guerrero said.

P.L. 6-45 states that all “unsafe buildings, structures, or appendages are declared to be public nuisances and shall be corrected by repair, rehabilitation, demolition or removal in accordance with the procedures established by the building safety official.”

Deleon Guerrero said the funding needed for demolition may be collected through a lien placed on the owner of the abandoned building.

“But there are many abandoned buildings on island whose owners have left the island for good. If we demolish the buildings, can the owner pay us back?” he asked.

He said DPW has placed liens on owners who cannot pay or are not paying the liens.

“We even worked with the Attorney General’s Office, but there are owners who don’t or cannot pay the lien. They are living in the U.S. or they left the island a long time ago,” he added.

With the financial situation of the CNMI and the limited resources of DPW, finding the funding needed for demolitions may be problematic, he said.