Council approves tighter rules and fees for vacant and abandoned buildings, aims enforcement at blighted properties

The Florence City Council on March approved amendments to the city’s vacant-and-abandoned building registry ordinance to focus enforcement on properties that contribute to blight and public-safety risks.

Staff explained the revised ordinance establishes three categories: category 1 properties that are vacant but not contributing to blight because owners maintain them; category 2 for properties with minor code infractions that owners are actively addressing; and category 3 for properties with major structural failure or that are magnets for crime.

Clint, a city staff member presenting the ordinance, told council the ordinance aims to target “those properties which the roofs are falling in, that are a magnet for crime, and in addition for blight within our neighborhoods and our business districts.” The council set the ordinance to take effect Jan. 1 of the following year to give staff time to create administrative processes and contact property owners.

Council members asked how the city handles properties where owners lack funds. Staff said the city already operates a demolition program and uses Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to assist residential repairs; liens may be placed on demolished properties and removed when redeveloped. Staff said there is not a current financial-hardship program for businesses, and use of CDBG for commercial rehabilitation would be evaluated case by case under HUD rules and the city’s five-year CDBG plan.

The ordinance adds a fee structure for commercial and industrial buildings and clarifies that properties listed for lease or actively managed by property managers are not the ordinance’s target. Planning staff said enforcement would proceed through code enforcement and that administrative systems would be in place before the ordinance’s effective date.

The measure passed after a motion and second; minutes record the vote as approved by voice.