City wants to demolish building

SANDUSKY — A Sandusky property owner seeks help from the courts to stop the city from demolishing her building. Kevianne Mayo, the authorized representative for Beauty Palace, recently filed a motion for injunctive relief in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Mayo wants the court to halt the city's plans to raze the building at 805 Hayes Ave. (Ohio 4). The light yellow building sits at the five-point intersection of Columbus Avenue, Hayes Avenue and both Park streets. A message painted on one of the windows says "Good things are coming soon." The city determined the structure to be nearly 80% deteriorated, according to court documents. A notice and order of demolition was sent to the property owner in December 2024. In August, the property owner submitted an application for a permit but did not include the required payment, according to Scott Thom, Sandusky's chief building officer. Sandusky's law requires the owners of vacant commercial and industrial buildings to register them with the fire department each year by Dec. 31. Beauty Palace failed to ever register the building, according to Sandusky fire Chief Mario D'Amico. The city charged Beauty Palace for failing to register, which is a first-degree misdemeanor, in January. That case is still ongoing. In April, the city sent a letter of intent to move forward with demolition, according to an affidavit filed with the Erie County recorder. "The owners, lienholders and any other interested parties have failed to file an appeal of the notice and order of demolition pursuant to ... the environmental health housing code," the affidavit states. In her motion for injunctive relief, Mayo claims she has retained an architect and pursued redevelopment planning of the property. She further claims to have secured a prospective buyer. "The pending demolition order and recorded demolition affidavit impair plaintiff's ability to sell the property because they affect the marketability of title and create uncertainty as to whether the structure will remain standing," the motion states.