METUCHEN — A burned-out borough home has remained an eyesore for too long, according to borough officials.
The Center Street house adjacent to the Metuchen Diner burned in a Christmas Eve fire in 2008 and has since sat in a deteriorated state, officials said.
“That house has been sitting there for five years,” said Councilman Peter Cammarano, who raised the issue at the April 21 Borough Council meeting. “It’s time for it to come down.”
Cammarano said that if the property owner will not demolish the residence in a timely fashion, the borough should raze it and then seek to recoup the money. He added that state law allows such action to be taken.
“I think five years is a ridiculous amount of time to give somebody to take down a house that’s not habitable,” he said.
Mayor Thomas Vahalla agreed, but pointed out that the previous owner of the home underwent foreclosure proceedings, and it is under new ownership by the owner of the Metuchen Diner.
Borough Administrator Bill Boerth said the owner is taking steps to demolish the structure.
Zoning Officer Chris Cosenza told the Sentinel that the borough took the previous owner to court a number of times to resolve the matter, to no avail. He confirmed that the current owner is in the process of securing the necessary demolition permits, but said other steps must be taken. The owner must receive clearance from utility companies and may have to perform asbestos removal, he said.
“It’s a multifaceted process, working on it,” he said.
According to Cosenza, the owner hopes to eventually use the 38-by-100- foot lot for additional diner parking.
Gus Anastasiou, who owns the Metuchen Diner with his brothers Mike and Pete, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
While Cosenza said he is unsure of the specifics regarding the plans, he noted that the limited width of the lot would likely make it accommodating for a “drive aisle” of head-on or angled parking spaces.
Because the plan would involve more than two spaces or more than 500 square feet of area, the owner would have to obtain major site plan approval from the Planning Board.
At the meeting, Cammarano said he was concerned that the building is a safety hazard.
“I would hate to think what would happen if it ever went up in a fire or something,” he said.
Cosenza later said he was recently inside the dwelling, and it looked as if contractors had accessed it in preparation for the demolition.
He said he plans to have officials from the fire or building departments take a further look at the site.