MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced Tuesday that the D.A.’s Office has entered into a consent order with the owners of the Marina Cove apartment complex to immediately clean the property and abate the nuisance the D.A.’s Office claims it is causing. The consent order was filed while the D.A.’s office works with the owners in an attempt to sell, demolish and rehabilitate the dilapidated and abandoned property that has plagued the Hickory Hill community for many years.
On May 27, the D.A.’s Office filed a nuisance action against Marina Cove, located at 5505 Winchester Road. The D.A.’s Office and the Memphis Police Department had received numerous complaints about illegal activity occurring on the property as well complaints for serious health, fire and code violations.
Under the consent order filed June 22, Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter has ordered the owners to take the following steps within 15 days:
1. Hire a licensed pest control firm to treat the property to address the mosquito and mosquito breeding problem.
2. Pick up and dispose of the trash that litters the property, especially the trash littering the parking lot areas.
3. Remove the dumped tires that litter the property and legally dispose of them.
4. Cut the overgrown grass, weeds and bushes.
The judge may hold the owners in contempt of court if they fail to comply with the steps in this consent order in the specified time period. Additionally, a health code violation is pending against the owners.
“Marina Cove is in such disrepair, I see no other alternative but to demolish the complex. Knowing that process takes time, I am encouraged the owners have agreed to take responsibility and will immediately clean up the property to make it safer for nearby residents,” said District Attorney Gibbons. “
“We plan to hold the owners accountable, however, and if the steps in the order are not completed by the deadline, we will ask the judge to hold them in contempt,” he added.
Marina Cove has essentially been abandoned for five years. The complex has become a breeding ground for criminal activity and numerous health hazards. On a recent visit to the complex, officers observed illegal dumping of waste and tires; evidence of graffiti, vandalism and theft; indications of criminal trespass; and numerous canals, waterways and ponds that are havens for breeding mosquitoes, rats and snakes.
The D.A.’s Office, working with the Memphis Police Department as part of Operation Blue CRUSH™, has filed nuisance petitions against the owners of numerous properties, both residential and businesses, under the Tennessee nuisance law. Some nuisance actions have resulted in permanent closure of the properties. Others have reopened under consent orders to alleviate the nuisance. |