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Brookhaven staff propose voluntary demolition assistance for nuisance properties
Summary
City staff proposed a voluntary abatement option to help owners of nuisance properties pay demolition costs on a case‑by‑case basis, with costs assessed to the property and eligibility determined by staff and the city attorney; council discussed pilot opportunities in several districts.
Brookhaven staff on Aug. 26 briefed the City Council on a proposed voluntary abatement program that would allow the city to assist property owners with demolition or cleanup costs when a property is determined to be a public nuisance.
The proposal, described by code enforcement staff, is intended to complement the existing compliance process: staff would begin with the city’s current courtesy notice and citation procedures and offer voluntary assistance to owners who request help or demonstrate an inability to pay. If compliance fails and the property is abated by the city, abatement costs would be added as a special assessment to the property tax roll.
Staff said funding for voluntary assistance would be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and that the city attorney’s office would be involved in eligibility and legal considerations. The presenter emphasized that the primary goal is voluntary compliance; the proposed option is not a substitute for citation and court processes but is intended to address situations where owners are unable or unwilling to remediate nuisance properties.
Councilmembers asked whether the program could be piloted in areas with known problem properties and how absentee-owner cases would be handled; staff responded that field code enforcement can identify candidate properties and that outreach would be coordinated through existing channels. Councilmember comments thanked code enforcement for past cleanup work and urged staff to capture positive resident feedback in the customer‑service system.
Next steps: staff said they will refine operational criteria with the city attorney and return with specifics on funding, eligibility and recommended pilot cases. No formal council vote was taken at the work session.
