Erosion puts bluff house on the brink of collapse

A Town of Grafton house is on the precipice of collapsing into the bluff along Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve.

“Our concern is the health, safety and welfare of anyone who would be there and the general public,” Town Chairman Lester Bartel said on the unoccupied building at 108 Lake Shore Rd.

“One of our concerns was their electrical lines, but those have now been turned off in the likelihood the house could be torn in half.”

Bartel said the erosion on the property became out of control about five weeks ago. The homeowners vacated the premises, and the town building inspector has since deemed the property unoccupiable.

The property is owned by Paul Rowlett, who Ozaukee Press has tried to contact several times without success.

Bartel said the town is working with the homeowner and Ozaukee County Emergency Management Director Scott Ziegler to resolve the problem. 

“There’s been good communication. They are working responsibly with engineering professionals and their insurance company and keeping in contact with the town,” Bartel said, noting this is not the first building on the same property to have structural damage due to erosion.

Bartel said he isn’t certain if the house will be razed or if work will be done to maintain the property.

“Sometimes insurance doesn’t cover incidents like this,” he said.

Officials said erosion isn’t limited to the site along the bluff, but Bartel said other properties in the town are not in imminent danger of collapsing.

In the past, officials have taken steps to rezone some of the shoreline to prevent people from building too close to the edge.