BNS proposes fee changes and a continuous-vacancy program as demolition and permit work expands

The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (BNS) presented its 2026 proposed budget and a set of fee-and-penalty updates to the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee, and announced a new continuous-vacancy enforcement program aimed at long-term, problematic vacant structures.

Director Abby Brands said the department is shrinking vacancies and expanding enforcement work: "We have 210 staff members. Last year when I came before this body, we had 70 vacancies. In January, we had 30. Now we have 18," she told the committee. Brands outlined rising demolition activity after the council provided additional funding and described efforts to modernize permitting, public-facing maps and website content.

Nut graf: BNS proposed targeted fee increases informed by a Baker Tilly cost study, seeks to add reinspection and stop-work penalties, and plans a continuous-vacancy administrative pathway to pursue properties that have been vacant, in disrepair and unresponsive to previous enforcement actions.

BNS described the continuous-vacancy program as leveraging state statute to target properties vacant for more than 90 days — with a proposed supplemental criterion that those properties also must have three consecutive repair orders — to focus enforcement on the most severe long-term blight. BNS estimated roughly 150–200 properties could be eligible in year one and said about 60% of those properties are held by companies, out-of-state owners or trusts.

Brands and CFO Jacob Miller reviewed operational trends: BNS has doubled demolition capacity after a $3 million council allocation, advancing from 54 structures bid in 2024 to an expectation of 100 structures bid in 2025 with 79 demolitions completed to date. The department reported nearly 24 tons of litter collected through neighborhood cleanups so far this year and said new programs address illegal dumping and high-weeds-and-grass assistance for residents with hardship.

On permitting, Brands described state legislation — referenced in the meeting as "house bills 10 37 and 10 0 5" — that will limit local drainage permitting under one acre and allow private third-party residential plan review and inspections starting Jan. 1, 2026. Brands said the department is creating a new permit path to accommodate those changes and is rolling out a right-of-way permit viewer and public portal to improve transparency.

BNS also proposed a package of fee adjustments. Examples include adding a reinspection fee (to recover costs when an inspector returns after a failed inspection), creating a stop-work violation penalty and updating plan-review and structural fees to be more transparent and closer to peer jurisdictions. Brands said the department is not increasing every fee and that the changes are targeted to align costs with the actual work performed.

Union leadership for AFSCME Local 1437, which represents some BNS employees, attended and expressed support for the department’s staffing and the proposed budget. Amanda Thompson, the union president, said the budget supports the department’s mission and the ability to address blight.

Ending: The committee received the presentation; BNS said it will bring fee proposals through its board and return with ordinance language for council consideration. Brands said the department will continue to refine digital services and pursue enforcement measures to address properties that have been vacant or in disrepair for extended periods.