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Goshen council adopts revisions expanding public-nuisance enforcement for problem properties
Summary
The Goshen Common Council unanimously approved Ordinance 5,240 revising local solid-waste and public-nuisance rules to give code enforcement stepped tools — from abatement letters to citations and court action — intended to address repeat property complaints. The ordinance will let staff escalate enforcement when owners do not respond.
The Goshen Common Council on Nov. 17 unanimously adopted Ordinance 5,240, which revises the city’s solid-waste and public-nuisance rules to give code enforcement clearer, stepped enforcement options for problem properties.
The ordinance deletes two residential-accumulation provisions in the existing Chapter 1 and creates a new Chapter 2 modeled on Elk Grove County’s public-nuisance code. Don Schul of the city legal department said the change is intended to address community complaints about neglected properties and to provide enforcement mechanisms “all the way down from ... sending the letter and doing the ordinance violations, bureau citations, and working with people, and then having the ability to up those violations if they are more extreme and we have nonresponsive property owners.”
Why it matters: Council members said the changes aim to make enforcement clearer and more effective while preserving escalation steps before court involvement. A councilor asked about fee levels; legal staff explained that abatement cost recovery (for cleanup the city conducts) is limited to the city’s actual cost—illustrated in the draft as up to $150—whereas larger fines referenced in separate code sections (for example, the $2,500 court-imposed penalties) apply only after formal legal action for repeat or severe violations.
The ordinance also retains, for now, reference language about a former recycling center that a member of the public had asked could be removed; legal staff said the draft predated the center’s closure and that the reference could be excised if the council prefers.
Council action and next steps: After discussion and no audience speakers addressing the item at the podium, the council passed the ordinance on first reading and then again on second and final reading during the same meeting; both votes were unanimous. The ordinance will take effect according to the dates set out in the ordinance text and will allow code enforcement staff to apply the stepped process described by legal counsel.
The council did not identify any required external approvals for the ordinance; implementation details and any further housekeeping edits (such as removing obsolete recycling‑center references) were left to staff.
