Sunday, August 22, 1999

Man's home is township's 'eyesore'

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Officials: Most of compound illegal

BY SHEILA McLAUGHLIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Retiree William Redmon stands in one of the fenced sections of his home. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        CLEARCREEK TOWNSHIP — If a man's home can be his castle, then William Redmon has built a fortress on Bunnell Hill Road.

        Toiling for 43 years on less than a half acre of land, the 71-year-old retiree has transformed brick, wood and a conglomeration of salvage materials into a walled compound.

        It's an idea he conjured up decades ago to stop the beer bottles from being thrown through his front windows and to ward off the bullets that sometimes shot out his lights.

        He sees himself as like the early American settlers and pioneers who made their homes inside walled stockades.

Redmond's compound has evolved into a fortress with stockade fencing and eagles nest watchtowers. (Clearcreek Township photo) | ZOOM |

        But it's a notion that has put the former factory worker at odds with township officials who say much of the structure is illegal, and with some neighbors who see it as an eyesore.

        They want it taken down.

        Last week, even after a Warren County judge found him in contempt of a court order to do just that, Mr. Redmon wasn't sure of his next move.

        “It ain't fair what they are doing. I've put in a lot of money and labor to secure my property, and they're telling me I'm an outlaw,” he said, adding that township officials violated his constitutional right to live in safety.

        “I'm not in contempt. I've got a use for the law, but I'm just trying to make a point.”

        Township Administrator Dennis Pickett sees it differently. Neighbors have complained, he said, and so have developers who are building behind the Redmon property, which is about a quarter mile from the township administration building.

        Mr. Pickett said Mr. Redmon's fence can stay because it was built in the 1970s before current zoning laws prohibited it. But the watchtowers, catwalks, carport and mismatched roofing that cover most of the compound were constructed since then without permits and violate the zoning code.

        “He knew what to do from the beginning and he opted to be obstinate. That's unfortunate,” Mr. Pickett said following last week's court hearing.

        The latest court battle over conditions on Mr. Redmon's property started in 1996, but friction between township officials and the long-time resident dates to at least four years earlier.

        Then, the township obtained a search warrant to check inside the fenced compound after noticing debris piling up inside the 10-foot walls.

        “He's a little eccentric for this area,” Mr. Pickett said. “The whole thing was stacked with items of every sort imaginable — large metal objects the size of small sports cars, automobile engines, lawn furniture, boxes of books, on and on and on.” .

        There even was a bike rack on the roof with about 40 bicycles, he said.

        The health department condemned the property because of water and sewer issues. Township officials told Mr. Redmon the collection of junk presented a nuisance, and they threatened a lawsuit. Mr. Redmon fixed the water and sewer problems and cleaned up the property.

        Three years later, tensions mounted again when Mr. Redmon built two watchtowers and began to construct a roof over his entire yard.

        Township officials filed a lawsuit over the violations, a move that spurred about 100 letters from Mr. Redmon calling Mr. Pickett and others “anything from The Third Reich to just plain evil.”

        After a trial in May 1997, Judge Neal Bronson of Warren County Common Pleas Court ordered Mr. Redmon to remove everything but the original house, garage and fence.

        That order was put on hold while Mr. Redmon unsuccessfully appealed the case to the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court.

        The order was reinstated this spring. Mr. Pickett sought contempt charges against Mr. Redmon after he refused to let township officials inside the compound to see whether he had complied with the court order.

        On Wednesday, Judge Bronson told Mr. Redmon he had 30 days to dismantle the illegal structures or face fines of $100 for each day the property is out of compliance. If Mr. Redmon refuses to comply, the township can tear down the structures and place a lien against Mr. Redmon's property, the judge ordered.

        “They're just picking on old peo ple. If they fine me $100 a day, they will wipe me out. I could afford a few days but that is $3,000 a month,” said Mr. Redmon, who lives off a pension and Social Security benefits.

        Today, the compound resembles an overgrown playhouse.

        A punching bag, basketball hoop, and dart boards hang on beams and walls. A collection of flags dangles from the rafters. Iron gates section off cubbyholes. A stainless steel playground slide is attached to one of the many sections of roof.

        To Mr. Redmon, the white walled compound is a “retirement home” that he began building after he bought the property in 1956.

        First he built the house, then the fence, which is now repaired with wire, corrugated plastic and metal, as well as other salvage materials.

        Everything else amassed since then and was constructed or decorated with items he found at local auctions, Mr. Redmon said.

        “When I built that money was scarce and I had to do the best with what I had to do it with,” Mr. Redmon explained.

        Neighbor Larry Manny is tired of excuses. He said he has complained to township and county officials since 1975, the year he moved in and the same time the fence went up.

        “It ruins my property. It depreciates it right down the toilet,” Mr. Manny said. “He thinks he has the right to have it. But he doesn't understand that the neighbors have the right not to have it.”

        Despite the latest court order, Mr. Manny said he doesn't count on seeing any changes next door.

        “I just go by what the county people told me: Eventually he will die and it will all be over,” Mr. Manny said.

       

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