SANFORD — Photos taken by city codes officials inside 22 North Ave. in Sanford show spray painted slogans on the walls and garbage cans overturned on the kitchen floor, with debris and filth everywhere.

Some of the wiring has been removed from the vacant single-family home at the corner of North Avenue and Thompson Street, the kitchen has been partially demolished, Sanford Code Enforcement Officer Jamie Cole said, and there is no electricity to the building, no heat and no water.

“It is very unsanitary,” said Cole.

Still, squatters crash there — or have — and may still be getting in, though the doors are locked. Cole told the City Council last month that after he locked the door behind him following an inspection, he learned squatters were observed climbing up the back side of the house and in through a window.

Outside, the roof is damaged, the clapboards are missing on part of the house, some of the windows appear to be in poor condition and there is debris everywhere.

It isn’t the worst property Sanford Community Development Director Ian Houseal has seen. The worst so far, he said, was at 32 River St. where squatters were still inside when he and code officers arrived. That building was demolished about a year ago.

The house at 22 North Ave. was constructed in 1910, one of many built in the city in the days when the textile mills were operating at full capacity.

But unlike some others of its vintage, 22 North Ave. is in rough shape. So much so that the City Council has declared it unfit for human occupancy and dangerous. Sometime within the next month, either a plan to rehab the property or to tear it down will emerge from the owner — whose whereabouts haven’t currently been determined — or other responsible party, like a bank. If that doesn’t happen, the city could take action and attach a special tax in order to recoup expenses.

The city began to take action on vacant and abandoned single-family homes, dilapidated, dangerous multi-family dwellings and abandoned former industrial properties in late 2017.

Some have been torn down, some are being rehabilitated and some are in the process, said Houseal.

So far since November 2017, nine buildings have been demolished through the Sanford Land Bank Authority and one demolished by an owner.

In all, said Houseal, 24 Sanford buildings have been declared dangerous.

One has been repaired by the owner, he said, another is in the process of being renovated, and a permit for a third structure, a multi-family dwelling, was not approved because it was incomplete. He said one rehabilitation plan is in process.

Two lots that once were the site of buildings that were demolished have been sold by the owners. Habitat for Humanity York County purchased the lot at 9 Kirk St. and the lot at 5-7 Allen St., Houseal said.

Mayor Thomas Cote, one of seven Sanford Land Bank Authority commissioners, said since the city began examining buildings in rough shape, the City Council’s eyes have been opened.

Some residents are living in what he described as “profoundly unsafe buildings,” Cote said.

“People are living in deplorable conditions, and as leaders of the community, this is not acceptable,” he said.

“We all knew there were some bad buildings, but none of us knew how bad and how many,” said Land Bank Commissioner and City Councilor Joseph Hanslip.

Sanford has many good responsible landlords, he said, and others who are not.

The rental inspection program, which is a portion of the city’s focus on housing, supports good landlords, Houseal said.

So far, he said, the city has recovered 75 percent of the $220,000 it has expended on dealing with the properties. The city had earmarked $250,000 for the program.

On Thursday, the Land Bank Authority, made up of three city councilors and four residents, looked at a list of properties of concern. One of many that remains on their radar is 93 Lebanon St., the former Gendron Lumber property, long vacant, that contains an abandoned house, a couple of abandoned sheds and a large commercial building.

Another is a building at 46 High St., the former Alexson’s Cleaners property which includes three apartments on the second floor. At the time the city inspected it two of the three units were occupied.

The ground floor of the property, once a dry cleaning establishment, is vacant. It was the subject of clean-up action undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008 and 2009 to address tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethene or PCE) that was released into the soil and groundwater during the building’s history as a dry cleaning establishment.

The city recently condemned the property. Among other deficiencies, Houseal said, are faulty support beams and that the boiler, which heats the building, had a large hole in it but was still being used.

As to 22 North Ave., the city is continuing to look for the owner, Rachel Grondin, and in the meantime, is working with her bank, Houseal said.

Police have been called to the property 22 times since July 18, he said.

The property is to be secured. A plan for the future, whether it be renovation or demolition, is expected to be submitted to the city within 30 days.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.