15 - Vacant Building Ordinance updateItem No. 15
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: John Godwin, City Manager
SUBJECT: VACANT BUILDING ORDINANCE UPDATE
DATE: May 31, 2019
BACKGROUND: Last spring the city council approved a vacant building registry that requires
owners of properties in a specific downtown area to register their buildings with the city, and to
pay a fee of $500 per year as long as it remains open. That ordinance was effective in July; fees
were not due until January 31. We initially identified thirty-nine buildings downtown as meeting
the definition of vacant. Property owners were sent notices of the new ordinance and its
requirements upon its adoption and another reminder in October about the fees. Several
registered right away, while others were much slower. Compliance was somewhat slow, but by
early this year we had a majority of properties registered and most of those had also paid their
fees in a timely manner. One property was opened for use, so was no longer categorized as
vacant. Four properties (with two different owners) were in the active process of being
remodeled for sale or rent, so were eligible for a waiver of the fees, but still had to register.
STATUS OF ISSUE: By ordinance, property owners are allowed ninety days to register once
the city sends notice of violation. Notices of violation were sent to property owners in March of
this year, and summonses were sent to three owners representing twelve properties in May. Two
of those owners have registered their properties, but not paid fees; one has done neither. As of
now, each is expected to be addressed in municipal court. In addition, two of the originally
identified properties were foreclosed on by the city. No action has been taken on those
properties at this point because we thought they would be sold at auction in March. Three new
small structures were added to the list this month week, as well as one building that recently
became vacant.
BUDGET: NA
RECOMMENDATION: Discussion only.