MARIETTA - Violations brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against a Franklin Road apartment complex have prompted the city to delay closing on the purchase of that property.

The city was set to close on the 200-unit, 13.2-acre Preston Chase apartment complex earlier this week, paying the owner, Regions Bank, $2.7 million for the property, when the bank revealed that the EPA had issued violations, city attorney Doug Haynie said.

The EPA inspected the site Dec. 18 and issued a Feb. 3 letter addressed to Preston Chase leasing consultant Connie Ochoa, notifying her of the violations, which involve alerting tenants about the risks of inhabiting a building that may have lead-based paint.

Lead-based paint for residential use was banned in the U.S. in 1978, and in 1996, a new law required owners of the pre-1978 homes and apartments to alert occupants as to whether they inhabit a building with lead-based paint, Haynie said. Preston Chase was built in 1971.

When the EPA inspected Preston Chase, it found that seven of the leased units did not have the lead-based paint disclosure form properly signed, prompting the Feb. 3 violation letter. The letter states that violations are subject to a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each offense.

Given that the city signed a contract with Regions Bank to buy the complex on Feb. 3, and that city staff have routinely visited the property since, the bank or apartment manager should have alerted the city before Wednesday, Haynie said.

"It's very disturbing Regions Bank did not tell us about the letter until yesterday," Haynie said.

Haynie said he had not transferred the $2.7 million over to Regions Bank yet, and would not do so until the bank agreed to resolve the matter with the EPA. The bank and EPA have been in negotiations over the penalty since receiving the Feb. 3 letter, Haynie said. Therefore, Haynie expects the closing to move forward on Monday, with an amendment to the contract holding Regions Bank responsible for all issues related to the EPA findings.

On Feb. 3, the council voted 6-1, with Councilman the Rev. Anthony Coleman opposing, to purchase the complex, which it intends to raze and turn into parkland. The plan is to use the Marietta Housing Authority to manage the property over the next year or so in helping tenants relocate before the city builds a park there. The purchase was funded with the $25 million parks bond voters approved in November.