By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

NORWAY – A new apartment building will continue to rise at 15 Cottage St. after an appeal of the landlords’ building permit was denied Wednesday.

Members of the Norway Board of Appeals said they were sympathetic to the cause of Debi Irons, who filed the appeal April 19 on the grounds that the building presented a health and safety hazard. However, members voted 4-0 to deny the appeal.

“What we need to decide as a board is whether or not the Planning Board of Norway or (Code Enforcement Officer) Jeff Van Decker were correct in signing this as written,” member Joe Cummings said, referring to the building permit and explaining that the scope of the appeals board is very narrow.

Neither Irons nor Vira Micklon, who owns the 15 Cottage St. property with her mother, Madeline Pratt, were surprised by the ruling.

“It couldn’t have been any different,” said Oramell “Scrapper” Pratt, who attended the hearing with his sister.

Irons said she filed the appeal because she had the ability to do so as an abutter and had spoken to at least 50 people concerned about past tenant behavior at 15 Cottage St.

Irons, Micklon and Pratt said they will get involved as the town continues to work on a new ordinance that would hold landlords accountable for their tenants’ behavior and may result in fines for landlords whose properties are subject to frequent police visits.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Norway Police Chief Rob Federico said police responded to 35 calls at 15 Cottage St. between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004. The complaints ranged from noise disturbances to simple assault.

The appeals board reiterated it was only able to consider whether the building permit was issued in error. They found no problems with the permitting process because the local ordinances allow even a nonconforming building that has been destroyed to be rebuilt.

Irons owns the building at 13 Cottage St., where she has tenants and runs her Art Moves dance studio. Her appeal stated that she was concerned about former residents at 15 Cottage St. who had thrown glass bottles on her property, harassed people entering her building and blocked or hit cars in her parking lot. She also complained about foul language, and “violent” or “sexually deviant” behavior, as well as a Dumpster.

Fire destroyed the apartment building Oct. 14, and one was set in the remainder of the building shortly thereafter.

“I was shocked to see the building went up again only because it was so quiet when it was down,” Irons said.

Oramell Pratt said he has been concerned because the police have never called his family to inform them of complaints at their properties.

The family owns 16 or 17 buildings with more than 100 tenants, he said.