Augusta commissioners heard shocking details about people living in squalor amid unsafe conditions in a South Augusta apartment complex at the Tuesday, Nov. 2 meeting.
The commissioners directed the Planning Department to act immediately to remedy the problem.
The owners of Azalea Park Apartments, located at 1814 Fayetteville Dr., have faced several serious code violations over the years, and, according to Rob Sherman, director of the Planning Department, they have always found a way to slip under the radar and avoid serious repercussions for their neglect of the property.
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Now, the apartment complex has until Dec. 31 to bring the buildings up to code or face losing its business license. A probationary period that ended on Oct. 31 has been extended until Dec. 31; however, the commission instructed the Planning Department to provide bi-weekly reports on the progress.
Despite District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom’s attempt to add the item to the consent agenda, which would have avoided public discussion of the matter, the commission was told that inspectors have found raw sewage in units, and that one middle-aged couple was discovered living in a flooded apartment.
“What I mean is, you go in and on the floor, water is seeping up through the cracks. You go into the bedroom, and the carpet is saturated. You couldn’t use the kitchen and it had been this way for three months,” Sherman told the commission.
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The unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the apartment complex that were presented to the commission in the open meeting are just the tip of the iceberg, according to documents obtained by The Augusta Press.
The owners of the complex, Sureste Partners LLC, based out of Atlanta, were placed on probation in September when code enforcement officials found 23 serious code violations. According to the documents, inspectors found 18 broken windows, holes in the walls and ceilings, fire damaged units, a broken waste line draining into a nearby waterway, a bedbug infestation and an infestation of rats.
Sherman said that when he and his staff conducted an inspection on Oct. 20, they determined that all but five of the violations had been addressed, but in the process, they discovered 16 more, including dried raw sewage on the floor and walls of a vacant unit.
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The inspection also uncovered the fact that a couple was living in a flooded apartment.
The tenants in the flooded apartment were immediately moved to another unit after the inspection, and the management claimed they did not know that the apartment had any plumbing issues.
According to Sherman, there is a reason tenants do not call the management at Azalea Park to report problems such as leaks, seeping sewage, bed bugs or even rats: they are afraid of being evicted.
“That’s how it works. The tenants complain to the landlords about issues, and the next thing you know, the landlord gets a notice from code enforcement across the country, not just here. The landlord then finds a reason to evict the tenant,” Sherman said.
According to Sherman, currently 70 leaseholders face eviction at Azalea Park, which is a 200-unit complex. If the city is forced to revoke the company’s business license, all tenants will have to vacate immediately, putting many of them out on the streets.
District 4 Commissioner Al Mason was alarmed at hearing about raw sewage on the property and asked if the commission shouldn’t take stronger measures immediately.
“Do we need to get the EPD or the EPA involved and not just license and inspection?” Mason asked.
Meanwhile, District 1 commissioner Jordan Johnson did not appear at all surprised to hear about the living conditions at Azalea Park and other extreme low-income housing.
“My grandmother lived there. Thank God I got her out,” Johnson said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
