Charlotte man fights plan to demolish grandmother’s home as she battles dementia

By Nora O'Neill

The house at 5701 Monroe Road sits beside county-owned land slated for Park and Recreation use. A Charlotte man is asking a judge to pause its demolition while he seeks guardianship over his grandmother, who has dementia. Screenshot via Google Street View

As Mecklenburg County prepares to demolish a Monroe Road house for a parks and recreation project, one man is racing the clock in court to save what he says is the only major asset of his nearly 90-year-old grandmother who has dementia.

“It’s against her wishes,” Tyler Dease said. “Everything screams, ‘stop, this is not right.’”

The home, located at 5701 Monroe Road, was sold to the county in May for $450,000, according to public records. The sale was completed through a power of attorney, a legal document that allows someone to act on another person’s behalf. County commissioners unanimously approved the purchase for Park and Recreation use.

But Dease said his grandmother, Joan Baker, has dementia and lacked the mental capacity to consent to the power of attorney that allowed her home to be sold. Baker is currently living with a family member since her house was sold.

“She can’t make a decision to save her life,” he said. “If Joan’s not mentally incompetent, why did somebody else sell her house?”

Baker had a stroke in 2016 and was later diagnosed with dementia, Dease said. He said her condition has only gotten worse, and she is often confused and unable to understand or make major decisions.

Now, Dease is seeking legal guardianship over his grandmother and has asked in Mecklenburg County Court for a judge to temporarily halt any demolition of the home while the court reviews her condition and the authority used to sell the home. Dease also filed a motion asking for a temporary restraining order to freeze the sale proceeds and suspend the authority under the power of attorney, according to court records.

“It’s just irreparable harm overall if her house is demoed. It’s her only asset,” he said.

But the judge has not yet acted on the request because the court paperwork has not been formally served to Baker, leaving no court order preventing demolition.

A hearing on whether Baker should be declared legally incompetent, the first major step toward guardianship, is scheduled for January. The court has appointed an attorney to represent Baker’s interests.

Meanwhile, demolition could legally happen at any time.

Dease said he first realized the demolition may happen soon when he drove past the home the week of Thanksgiving and saw some siding was removed. When he called the county’s permitting office, staff confirmed an active demolition permit had been issued.

The Monroe Road house sits next to land already owned by the county, where Park and Recreation officials are developing a new recycling center, Dease said. It is unclear exactly what the county will do with the land where Baker’s house sits, but Dease said he suspects it will become part of the project.

Dease said he has contacted county officials to explain that his grandmother had dementia and that court filings were underway. He said his goal was simple: slow things down long enough for a judge to review what happened.

“There’s a chance that this may not be a positive outcome,” Dease said. “At this point we’re just trying to make it aware that Joan Baker might not know what’s going on, and that the power of attorneys that are supposedly acting on her behalf can’t be legal because of her mental capacity.”

In an email to the Observer, a county spokesperson confirmed only that commissioners authorized the purchase of the parcel from Baker for Park and Recreation purposes. The county did not answer specific questions about the demolition timeline, pending court filings, or Baker’s mental capacity.

Dease said he does not believe the county knew about his grandmother’s dementia or the family’s legal concerns at the time of the sale. But with a guardianship case now pending, he hopes officials will voluntarily pause demolition before a judge can weigh in, especially given what the property – which sits near where his grandfather is buried – represents to his family.

“It’s very sad,” Dease said. “This isn’t just a house to us.” 

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Charlotte man fights plan to demolish grandmother’s home as she battles dementia