Hendersonville General Committee advances updated building and maintenance codes, vacant-property registry and several municipal policies

Hendersonville’s General Committee met in March and moved forward a package of code updates, a vacant commercial-property registry and several municipal policy changes, members said.

The committee recommended adoption of the 2021 model building and fire codes and an updated property maintenance code, advanced a proposed vacant commercial- and industrial-building registration ordinance, recommended a new local prohibition and regulation of certain panhandling behaviors, approved a decorative street-sign replacement grant program, sent a proposed shopping-cart ordinance to public review with a neutral recommendation, and advanced resolutions on fire-department secondary employment, an informational briefing from the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) on the BRIDGE retirement program for public safety employees, and formal opposition to state legislation that would limit local land-use authority.

The most detailed discussion centered on adopting updated codes and the proposed vacant-building registry. Greg Sillery, a city staff member who presented the code changes, told the committee that the city needs to “be current within the newest published edition” and recommended the committee consider adoption of the 2021 editions of the International Fire Code and the building code series. Sillery said the property-maintenance code received the most local tailoring, including new language to speed demolition and a new appendix establishing uniform standards for boarding structures.

A local business owner who spoke during the citizens’ comment period urged the committee to adopt the…