City Commission declares nuisance property
City Commissioners unanimously declared the property at 816 3rd Ave. S. a nuisance, after decades of complaints, during their Jan. 20 meeting.
Brock Cherry, city planning director, told commissioner that the city had received complaints about the property since 2007, but upon looking into it further, found the Great Falls Police Department had received 300 calls for service to the property since 1997.
“I understand there’s probably been longtime frustration and disappointment,” Cherry said, but the process is challenging and “things have to become very terrible before they get any better.”
The city has attempted to work with the property owner over the years and the property was already abated once, Cherry said.
Based on the saga of the 3rd Avenue South property, Cherry said the city may need to have a conversation about its code enforcement strategy and the funds needed for enforcement, which can include abatement.
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Initial complaints included property maintenance violations, graffiti, dilapidated conditions, recreational vehicle(s), no utilities.
Cherry said that violation and notice letters were mailed over the years and staff met with the owner in hope of gaining compliance, but that didn’t occur.
City officials executed a warrant on Oct. 7 to further assess and secure the property, during which the city building official deemed the home uninhabitable and ordered it vacated.
As of Dec. 26, the following violations remained, according to the city:
- residential structure is severely dilapidated and in an unsafe condition due to deferred maintenance and no active utilities
- junk, trash, salvage materials, discarded household items, etc., visible throughout the front/side/rear yards, including, but not limited to, bicycle parts, bags, trash, blankets/tarps, appliance(s), furniture, wood, etc.
- temporary shelter(s) in the backyard of the residence
- white SUV illegally parked in the backyard of the property
Declaring the property a nuisance as defined in city code allows the city to pursue abatement, including demolition.
“The total cost of the abatement, to include removal of vehicles, temporary shelters, trash, salvage materials and razing the residential structure, is unknown at this time. Funds from the Hazard Removal Fund will be used to carry out abatement if necessary,” according to the city staff report.
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For the current year’s budget, the Hazard Removal Fund has $6,567.
The city declared one nuisance property in 2025 and according to the budget, spent $13,072 from the Hazard Removal Fund.
City staff hand-delivered two violation letters in October to Jason Leif Gilstrap, the property owner, according to the city.
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Further notification was issued in December and posted on the property.
Property taxes have not been paid since July 2023 and are delinquent, according to publicly available county tax records.
During the Jan. 20 meeting, Commissioner Rick Tryon asked if anyone was living in the house, to which Cherry said no one should be and staff posted no trespassing signs on the property.
Lori Nelson, who owns and lives in a house across the alley from the nuisance property, said that people were still on the property and she’d called the police a few nights prior.
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Commissioner Casey Schreiner said demolishing the property gave him pause since it might be providing shelter, though inappropriate.
Cherry said the city was hoping to coordinate with other entities to save the property.
NeighborWorks Great Falls has been in contact with the owner about purchasing the property to demolish it and build a new home.
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Nelson said she’s lived in her house since 1985 and that she didn’t think commissioners would want to live across from the “homeless encampment” that 816 3rd Ave. S. had become.
She said she and her family had found needles and shell casings around their property from the activity at the nuisance property.
“This is not a home,” she said of the property, and that as long as the structure was there, it would continue to attract unwanted behaviors and people.
Nelson said her son had been threatened by people on the property and “were not safe in this environment.”
She said she can’t sell her house because she won’t make enough to be able to afford to move to a better neighborhood.
Tryon moved to declare the property a nuisance, seconded by Commissioner Shannon Wilson.
Tryon said that from what he’d heard, it was an “intolerable situation,” that was not fair to neighbors or the broader community.
He said he supported private property rights but those come with responsibility to follow the rules and maintain a property.
“Your private property rights don’t trump the responsibility” to follow rules and standards, Tryon said.
He suggested that those who didn’t want to follow the those property maintenance rules could live in the county and do whatever they want.
The county also has property maintenance rules, but they’re less stringent that the city.
Schreiner said he’d vote to declare the property a nuisance, which would mitigate that neighborhood’s issues but the problem would likely move to another area.
Complaints and enforcement on the property include, according to the city:
2007-2010
- records indicate early code concerns, but details from this period are limited
2020
- June 21: property taxes delinquent; Aug 3: tax lien filed
- Aug. 4: citizen complaint received
- August to September: multiple violation notices issued
- Nov. 6: temporary compliance achieved
2021-2022
- Sept. 29: citizen complaint
- October 2021 to January 2022: violation notices issued
- March 2022: email from owner to staff
- advised owner that further complaints would go directly to legal department
2023
- May through July: multiple citizen complaints, violations sent to legal department
- July: enforcement paused pending possible tax lien sale; lien avoided when taxes paid
- 2023 taxes later delinquent
2024
- April: city water service shut for nonpayment; complaint filed in municipal court citing public nuisance, junk/debris, and unauthorized camping
- May through October: owner missed multiple court appearances; warrants issued; trial delays due to scheduling conflicts
- November through December: police and public works removed a camper from backyard;
- 2024 taxes delinquent
2025
- Jan. 3: bench trial; owner absent; found guilty on nuisance and junk/debris charges (camping dismissed)
- multiple missed court appearances but sentenced imposed a $500 charge for each violation and ordered to bring property into compliance within 90 days
- January through spring: sporadic cooperation from owner; discussed securing residence
- late spring: cost estimate prepared to secure home; unable to reach owner to further discuss
- August: neighbor complaints renewed; concerns over property conditions and occupancy
