Boarded up windows untouched for 40 years, now ordered by city to be fixed

Both windows are in the alley and deemed OK when she first bought building.

Apparently, La Crosse city inspectors weren’t kidding about doing more building code enforcement, especially downtown.

Peggy Heinz is one of those hit most recently with an order to correct. She has owned a building on Jay St., downtown, since the mid 90s.

The city’s ordered her to fix a couple of windows. Problem is, they’re no longer windows. And haven’t been in about 40 years, Heinz noted. Not to mention, they are both in an alley.

She calls the order to replace some boarded up windows with actual glass windows nitpicky.

“They want me to put a glass window in there, which I think is utterly stupid, especially with crime and everything else that goes on downtown,” Heinz said. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

One window is now part of a wall inside an apartment on the third floor. The other covers some utilities on the first floor.

The city says Heinz is out of compliance with rules that govern the downtown as a historic district.  

“When I bought my building, I had it inspected by the city and everything was fine,” Heinz said. “Now, all of the sudden, they want to change this?

“My feeling is, probably, if the building next door hadn’t burned down, I don’t think they would even be bothering with these couple windows.” 

Heinz’s building is across the alley of the site massive Jay St. fire that destroyed two buildings back in 2011.

The city has pledged more enforcement of codes as a way to improve the city’s building stock.  The Heinz windows violate rules related to the downtown’s historic status.