Arjo Adams wanted three more months to bring his house up to code, but the St. Paul City Council had had enough. The council voted unanimously Wednesday night to deny Adams' appeal of the city's correction order from October, which directed him to remove his possessions from 676 Wells St. so the city could knock it down. I wrote about this conflict last month, and wondered whether the council would really demolish a house in reasonably good shape, and one in which city staff had looked the other way as Adams, an artist, tinkerer and urban scavenger, continued to live in a property on the city's register of vacant buildings.
On Wednesday, Melvin Welch, Adams' pro bono attorney, repeated many of the arguments that failed to persuade a legislative hearing officer last month. He offered photos to show the plumbing, electrical and other work put into the house. "It is not uninhabitable. It is not a dangerous structure. Another three months is all that's going to be required for Mr. Adams to get this house in order," he said.
"We've been very patient," said Council Member Dan Bostrom. "This probably is about as far as we can go on this. It's really too bad. I wish there was more we can do."
The council then voted 7-0 to proceed with its correction order. That's not the end of the story, though. Welch said he plans to block the city's action by taking the case to the Court of Appeals.
