Committee delays vacant‑building registration ordinance after equity and enforcement questions

The Equitable Growth and Housing Committee delayed action on a proposed vacant building registration ordinance after members asked the administration for more data on enforcement capacity, equity impacts and ownership patterns.

Chair Mark Jeffries told the committee that city data show about 2,790 properties without water service that appear vacant and that 97 percent of those properties have generated at least one police or fire call. "If you average the last five years, all the fire runs, it's about 1,700 a year, which is about 10% of the total fire runs in a year," Jeffries said, adding that the properties owe roughly $4,500,000 in back taxes.

The ordinance as presented would create a proactive registry for properties determined to be vacant, require twice‑a‑year interior inspections (and regular exterior monitoring), and establish a modest registration fee estimated at "$200 to $300," Director Dahlberg said. The proposal includes exemptions for certain government‑owned properties, owners with active building permits, owners who can demonstrate an approved maintenance plan, and so‑called "snowbirds." Dahlberg said the ordinance is intended to be an "entryway" to assess conditions and to move truly unsafe properties into the existing vacant building maintenance license…