Homes wrecked

Two homes in Saratoga were demolished Friday afternoon after the town forwarded complaints it received from residents to the property owner.

The two homes near the corner of Fourth and Saratoga Streets were demolished, and cleanup of the lots began immediately thereafter.

According to Town of Saratoga Zoning Officer Dan Ferrin, the town had received complaints about the state of the properties and had forwarded those complaints to the owner in a letter.

The owner of the property then made the decision to demolish the homes, Ferrin said, adding that the town did not request demolition of the homes.

The demolition came only 28 days after the town's new nuisance ordinance–aimed at cleaning up the town and dealing with properties that pose public health or safety hazards–came into effect.

According to Ferrin, the demolition of the two homes Friday was not related to that ordinance, and no letters about the ordinance had yet been sent to the owner of the properties.

Ferrin said letters about potential nuisance ordinance violations would be sent soon, but the town would first be focusing on issues affecting public rights-of-way.