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Council amends property-maintenance code to clarify fines, appeal options
Summary
Fishers corporation counsel presented an amendment to clarify daily fines and administrative procedures after a recent Court of Appeals decision; council approved suspending rules and passed the ordinance on first reading and final approval the same night.
Lindsey Bennett, corporation counsel for Fishers City, told the council the amendment clarifies the property-maintenance code’s violation and penalty procedures after a recent Court of Appeals decision affected the violations section. The change specifies the notice-and-cure process, the possibility of daily fines, and how unpaid fines move to enforcement if unresolved for 30 days.
The amendment was described as aligning the ordinance text more closely with the city’s internal procedures. “After we looked at it, and we went over our procedure internally, I felt, I think we probably need to flush this out a little bit, just to make sure we don't get crossways with that new case,” Bennett said.
Council members asked how the code would handle citations issued in error. Councilman Delson asked, “So, what happens if a citation is written in error?” Bennett said recipients can contest a citation through the Ordinance Violations Bureau; contested citations are set for trial and a judge decides based on evidence. She also said the administration can void citations administratively before a case reaches court if the citation is shown to be incorrect.
Bennett noted that high-grass violations follow a separate statutory and procedural scheme and are not changed by this amendment. She said the code-enforcement office has administrative authority to void fines or fees in appropriate cases and that the amendment’s notice process is intended to emphasize compliance: initial notice, a 30-day remedy period, and an inspection after 35 days.
Council voted to suspend the rules to allow immediate final consideration and approved the amendment. The council first voted to suspend the rules and approve on first reading, then took and passed the final approval vote the same evening.
The amendment revises the enforcement language to spell out the notice, daily-fine possibility, administrative review and enforcement referral timing. Bennett said the goal is corrective compliance rather than immediate prosecution.
The ordinance passed on the motions recorded in the council roll calls.
