The most recent set of building permits for a 13-year-old home building project in the Scenic Mountainview Estates subdivision in Cleveland Township expired on June 20, and township supervisor Tim Stein said he’s hopeful that action will be taken against the property owner sometime soon.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Cleveland Township Board on Tuesday evening, Stein reported that he’d been in touch with the head of the county’s Construction Code Authority about the project and learned that the authority had “closed its file” on the case. Stein said the ramifications of that action were unclear, but that building permits for the project will not be renewed unless property owner Steve Saffell starts the permit process all over again.

Stein said he expected to meet with building official Robert Meyer later this month to formulate a “game plan” on how to deal with the issue of Saffell’s expired building permits and the continued presence of junk on the property. In recent years, neighbors have increasingly voiced complaints about Saffell and his project, which has been under way for more than a decade.

In addition, Stein said, Saffell has appealed the county’s recission of his “principal residence exemption” on the property to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Stein said he believed the county would take action to collect back “non-homestead” taxes owed on the property because a certificate of occupancy had never been issued for Saffell’s house although he claimed the “homestead” tax exemption.

In other business at this week’s meeting, the Cleveland Township Board:

• Learned that the township Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. on a new ordinance making violations of the township junk ordinance and other rules civil infractions rather than criminal violations. If adopted, the change will make it easier for the township to issue tickets and prosecute those who violate certain ordinances.

• Learned that township zoning administrator Ruth Shaffran has issued just one land use permit for a new home so far in 2008. Stein noted that the lack of building activity in the township has been unusually low this year and is likely related to an overall slump in the state’s economy.

• Discussed a project to repair the township hall roof with maintenance director Robert Fox who said he planned to consult with a roofing contractor on the issue in the near future.