In a move that dovetails with an initiative to clean up a troubled neighborhood, Westminster is seeking an injunction against a Pennsylvania Avenue property owner accused of running a boardinghouse.

The city has asked the Carroll Circuit Court to stop the use of a two-story townhouse at 77 Pennsylvania Ave. as an apartment building - a violation of the zoning ordinance, which allows only single-family homes there. City officials contend that Ricky Lee Jones, who bought the 1860-era home in 1998, converted the 5,263-square-foot structure into eight rooms - without obtaining the appropriate zoning certificate for use as apartments.

"We no longer have to prove he's running a boardinghouse. [The lawsuit] shifts the onus to prove he's not running a boarding house," said Scott Jeznach, Westminster's code enforcement officer.

Jones did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday.

The house sits in the middle of an area city officials and residents are working to revitalize. The Lower Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative's advisory committee will meet during the summer to devise a plan to curtail problems on the street, including drug use, vandalism and prostitution. Strong municipal code enforcement figures prominently in the city's plans.

This isn't the first time Jones has been accused of violating city codes, officials said.

Since April 1999, he has received 38 code violation warnings at eight of his 15 properties, according to Jeznach and city records. Officials have issued nine warnings noting code violations at 77 Pennsylvania Ave., he said.

In early 1999, city officials who toured the building with Jones and his attorney observed renovations that made it clear that the owner was creating more rooms, putting up walls and doors.

During an official inspection about two years later, Jeznach noted eight rooms occupied by eight or more people. Each door was designated by a letter of the alphabet and had a lock on it. The house had no common spaces - living, dining or family rooms, he noted in his report.

That day Jeznach issued two citations - one alleging zoning violations and the other failure to have a proper zoning certificate to operate a boardinghouse. A month later, he returned to find nothing had changed and reissued the citations, records indicate.

To add to his findings, he said he went to the city's Police Department and pulled out reports filed within a three-month period and found nine people who were simultaneously calling 77 Pennsylvania Ave. their residence.

Initially, the city went to District Court. A judge issued an order to vacate the building, but city officials said that didn't solve the problem because the structure still exists with eight rooms.

"Mr. Jones has forced us to do this," Jeznach said. "If we didn't feel he was doing something wrong, we wouldn't have him in court."