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Community development presents vacant-property enforcement update; proposes clarifying language and fee corrections
Summary
Community Development Director Lisa Hewitt Cruz told the Adrian City Commission the vacant-property program has identified 16 commercial and 39 residential vacant properties since January and proposed ordinance edits (Article 5, Section 10) including clarification of partial-residency verification, decorative downtown storefront treatments, extended time after fire damage from 90 to 120 days, and a fee correction for the right-to-appeal.
Community Development Director Lisa Hewitt Cruz briefed the City Commission on June 16 on the vacant-property inspection and registration program and proposed refinements to Article 5, Section 10 of the city code.
Cruz said the program is intended to reduce blight, protect property values and public safety by holding property owners accountable. She reported the program has identified 16 commercial and 39 residential vacant properties since January and outlined the current fee schedule: a $200 registration and initial inspection for each residential unit (with an additional $20 for each multifamily unit), $600 per commercial building for initial inspection, monitoring inspection fees ($100 plus $10 per additional multifamily unit; $300 for commercial monitoring), and reuse/recertification inspection fees mirroring monitoring fees.
Planned ordinance changes: Cruz recommended clarifying acceptable forms of verification for partial residency (utility bills, voter registration, mail or official documents), requiring decorative window treatments for vacant street-level storefronts in the downtown development area (subject to DDA review and approval), extending the post-fire timeframe for securing permits from 90 to 120 days to allow insurance processing, changing the term "occupancy" to "compliance" where appropriate, and correcting the right-to-appeal fee from $150 to the ordinance's accurate $200 amount.
Enforcement and outcomes: Cruz described enforcement options, including civil infraction proceedings and the ordinance's allowance to place unpaid registration and inspection fees onto the tax rolls as a special assessment. She cited several local successes the team has secured through demolition and redevelopment of derelict properties, including removal of a gas station across from Comstock Park and properties on Church and Tecumseh streets. Cruz also referenced ongoing negotiation and reuse discussions for a former Big Boy commercial property and an interior gutting/demolition timeline for the Adrian Mall project.
Next steps: City staff said they will continue monitoring, bring back a revised ordinance for review and will report progress to the commission in six months and again to the commission after an academic partnership study returns in November.
