Al fresco diners on Burlington's lower Church Street scattered one evening in August when gunfire erupted at an apartment house across the street.

The cops had no trouble finding 184 Church Street; after all, they've responded to calls there nearly 1,000 times over the past decade. Sometimes, it's to escort EMTs, who won't enter the place without police.

Five siblings in the Handy family own the 17-unit complex and many others in the city. Now, after years of complaints, Burlington officials are taking aim at the notorious crime-ridden rental.

On Monday, the city was prepared to ask its Housing Board of Review to suspend the Handys' rental permit for a year — an unprecedented move that would have forced the landlords to find new apartments for their tenants and to fix some three dozen housing code violations. Instead, a half hour before the meeting, the sides reached a tentative agreement to relocate the tenants and repair the building — without taking the Handys' permit. The housing board will review the deal on October 10.

In an interview last week, Mayor Miro Weinberger said he hopes the city's pressure will put an end to the "chaos and disorder" at the property.

"This is the most problematic building in the city," he said. "There's nothing else like it."

The Handy siblings ­— Anthony, Charlie, Joan, Joe and Laura — own nearly 250 rental units under various corporation names, according to Burlington property records. They also own downtown commercial buildings, including one that houses Urban Outfitters on the Church Street Marketplace and another that's home to Phoenix Books on Bank Street.

The Handys bought 184 Church Street, a three-story building on the block just across Main Street from the pedestrian marketplace, in 2005. Built in 1899, the building is showing its age. Decaying plants cling to the dingy siding, and trash litters the ground near the sidewalk. Wooden fire escapes crisscross the building's façade. A "No Loitering" sign hangs near the front entrance.

The apartment complex has long attracted police attention — and in 2016, the Handys evicted a tenant for calling authorities too often. That tenant, Joseph Montagno, sued the Handys and the City of Burlington, which he said pressured his landlords to kick him out. The city settled with him for $30,000.

In February 2018, WCAX-TV investigated the long-standing problems with drugs and crime at the property, dubbing it the "Nightmare on Church Street." That year, police responded to 66 incidents at the building. And yet, somehow, things have only gotten worse. As of September 25, police had responded to the property 219 times this year for calls such as "disturbances," trespassing and threatening behavior, police data show. Fourteen calls were for overdoses; at least one person has died of a suspected overdose there, according to Police Chief Jon Murad.

Emergency responders regularly encounter squatters and drug paraphernalia in the hallways, Fire Chief Michael LaChance wrote in a letter to the housing board.

"We have instructed our members to attempt to have patients meet them outside as it is not a safe environment to operate within," he wrote.

Other city officials have been inside recently. During an inspection in June, code enforcement director Bill Ward found 46 deficiencies, including clogged drains, loose plaster on the walls and damaged smoke detectors. One unit didn't have working hot water, and there was evidence of hoarding in another.

Ward said nothing was fixed when he returned two months later, but he gave the Handys two more weeks to comply. At one point, a property manager asked for more time because he said the tenants had threatened the workers with guns, though the city said he never filed a police report. When Ward returned a final time, the Handys had only replaced faulty fire extinguishers.

Weinberger said he had heard growing concerns about the building from constituents, some of whom stopped him on the street to complain. Among other issues, police have connected tenants to an April shooting at a Main Street apartment above Manhattan Pizza & Pub — a building also owned by the Handys.

The disorder is affecting neighboring businesses and the Chittenden County Superior Court, which abuts 184 Church. A sheriff's deputy has been tasked to patrol its parking lot after employees witnessed people disrobing and doing drugs there earlier this year. Last week, the court installed a six-foot-tall fence around the parking lot to keep people from using it as a pass-through. Assistant Judge Suzanne Brown said employees have also found used syringes on the lawn, though she acknowledged that she can't trace them to the house next door.

"There's allegedly a lot of drug use going on back there in that building," she said. "The city knows this."

George Mckeever-Parkes, general manager at El Gato Cantina, which is across the street from 184 Church, recalled the chaos in August when gunshots rang out twice in one night at the property. Other times, patrons dining outside have heard people screaming and fighting, he said.

"It doesn't create a very inviting atmosphere for people wanting to come and enjoy their meals," he said. "People don't want to walk past the end of Church Street."

Serkan Çetin, manager at Istanbul Kebab House next door to El Gato, agreed that the activity is bad for business. He said he'd heard that the city was trying to close down the building. "Good luck to the mayor," he said.

In an interview before Monday's meeting, property co-owner Joe Handy said he's tried to restore order at the complex but can't do it alone. He said his property managers routinely clean up needles and clear out squatters, but the problems resurface. Police aren't enforcing trespass orders, Handy said, and won't respond unless someone is in grave danger.

The city, however, says Burlington cops aren't the problem.

Police "respond to this property regularly and frequently," Samantha Sheehan, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a Monday email. "The serious issues at this property are not driven by a lack of law enforcement presence or action."

Despite their differences, the city and Handys both say they want the same thing: for the building to be cleaned up and the problem tenants moved out. Five units are already vacant, and eight others will be in 30 days, per the terms of the parties' tentative agreement, Sheehan said. Handy is finding new housing for some of the tenants, and others will be evicted by that deadline. Three others have been served eviction notices, and Sheehan said the city is confident Handy will prevail in court.

On Monday, housing board member Evan Litwin said evictions can sometimes take months and asked how the city will address public safety concerns in the meantime. Ward, the code enforcement director, said the city and the Handys will draft a "management plan" to ensure "that the people that remain there are not causing more problems." City staff will also monitor the property.

But the Handys don't have a great track record of following city orders. In May, an electrical fire at one of their properties on St. Paul Street displaced a dozen tenants, some of whom moved into hotels. In such cases, a city ordinance requires the landlord to pay for hotel stays; the Handys never did. The city covered the costs and, to recoup its money, is considering placing a lien on the property, which would force the landlords to pay up before the property is sold.

Weinberger said he's confident that the Handys will pay to relocate their Church Street tenants. The Burlington Housing Authority is already helping some tenants with Section 8 vouchers find new homes, according to the mayor.

"[This] is not a position we want to be in," he said, but "I think it's our best option now."

At least one Vermont city found another way. In 2016, federal officials seized three properties in Rutland that were plagued with drug-related crime. The homes were given to a nonprofit to be redeveloped into affordable housing.

Some Burlington city councilors suggested other ways of holding landlords accountable. Councilor Melo Grant (P-Central District) said the city could consider fining landlords who tolerate drug activity and let their buildings decay. Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) said code enforcement may not be the most effective approach for problematic places such as 184 Church Street. She floated the idea of making landlords apply for licenses — which would allow the city to strip that license if landlords don't follow the rules.

"I do applaud them for taking action on this property using the tools that we currently have," Shannon said, "but I think the question is: Do we need more tools?"