STEUBENVILLE — The city’s administrative appeal of the three zoning variances granted to Nelson Holdings a year ago for several vacant downtown properties has finally been resolved.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, members voted unanimously to accept a settlement, negotiated by Law Director Costa Mastros and signed Monday by Nelson Holdings owner Mark Nelson.

The deal gives Nelson a three-year exemption to bringing properties at 113 S. Fourth St., 168 S. Fourth St. and 420 Washington St. into compliance, Mastros said, as well as a one-time electrical permit for the Washington Street property.

“They’re going to be vacant buildings but, as I understand it, he is going to work on them,” Mastros said.

Owners of vacant buildings, loosely defined as structures unoccupied for 90 days or more, are required by ordinance to register them with the city and pay a registration fee — $200 to start for residential properties and $400 for commercial buildings. Assessments go up every year the property remains vacant, but would not exceed $400 a year for residential properties and $700 for commercial.

While the ordinance stipulates that if a building has utilities it can’t be considered vacant, city inspectors judged occupancy solely by whether a building had water service and flagged Nelson’s three properties

Nelson had argued that two of the properties had a utility — electricity — as required by the ordinance and he had a permit to have it installed at the Washington Street property as well. He appealed to the Board of Property Maintenance Appeals for relief and in November 2018 was granted the three exemptions, prompting City Council to file its administrative appeal a month later in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court.

Nelson could not be reached for comment.

Sixth Ward Councilman Bob Villamagna, chair of council’s economic development committee, said afterward the settlement shows “cooperation between both parties.”

“The city’s intent is not to hurt anybody,” he said.

“We’re just trying to clear up some vacant properties,” Villamagna added.

Meanwhile, council members raised concerns about the recent number of water line breaks in the city.

Second Ward Councilman Craig Petrella told council “multiple breaks in multiple areas at the same time” on LaBelle and Pleasant Heights underscored the deteriorated condition of the lines.

“I looked at the pipe, it was paper thin and looked like Swiss cheese,” Petrella said.

“Our infrastructure is very bad. If you see pipes that come out, they’re just horrible.”

Water Superintendent Jim Jenkins said multiple breaks have occurred, including one behind Harbor Freight on Mall Drive in the West End he said “was spectacular.”

“Water was actually shooting out over Harbor Freight,” he said, telling council members he discovered a golf ball-sized hole in the side of the pipe.

He said breaks also occurred at Belleview Boulevard and Ohio Street, Eve Drive and Moreland Avenue on Saturday; Lawson Avenue and Orchard Street on Sunday; and the Mall Drive break on Monday.

Sixth Ward Councilman Bob Villamagna said he’ll ask council next week to sign off on a resolution expressing the city’s opposition to a proposed landfill directly outside of city limits and forward it to a number of federal, state and local entities.

A New York company had proposed taking over the old Crossridge Landfill, correcting environmental concerns there and then accepting baled solid wastes from out-of-state.