The Clarkesville City Council voted unanimously Monday night to condemn the old Ingles building on the south side of town.
Prior to the decision, Zoning Administrator Caleb Gaines explained to the council that for the last several years, the city has been trying to work with Ingles to either clean up the property or tear it down.
“On several occasions, we’ve met with Ingles on site. It made promises, and nothing has ever happened,” he told the council.
During his presentation, Gaines urged city leaders to take the next step and officially start condemnation proceedings. He invoked past precedent when the city condemned the garment factory building on Madison Street.
“I believe this will get their [Ingles’] attention and get them started on some kind of remediation of this building,” Gaines said.
Gaines reminded the city council that the Clarkesville Planning Commission had voted unanimously to condemn the building.
“Now I need your support and voting for it. Once you guys do that, I’ll start the process,” he said.
The council did not discuss the matter or hesitate. Councilmember Rick Wood made the motion to begin condemnation proceedings. Councilmember Angelia Kiker seconded the motion.
According to Gaines, the process will begin immediately with a written notification to Ingles of the actions that the planning commission and the city council have taken. From there, Ingles will have 30 days to respond. If there is no response, the city will begin the condemnation process following the procedures set forth in the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted by the city of Clarkesville and the state of Georgia.
