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City staff propose ordinance to close "donut hole" on derelict nonresidential properties; preliminary cost estimate $2.3M
Summary
Development Services and City Attorney presented a proposed abandoned‑building ordinance built on state statute (cited as 160D‑12‑01) to allow the city to address long‑abandoned nonresidential structures that create public‑safety nuisances; staff estimated two additional positions (~$150,000) and demolition of current inventory at roughly $2.3 million (very preliminary).
Development Services Director Mark Matheny and City Attorney Brad Branham briefed the Public Safety Committee on Jan. 29 on a proposed abandoned‑building ordinance intended to fill a statutory ‘‘donut hole’’ for long‑abandoned nonresidential properties that generate recurring public‑safety nuisances.
Matheny said the Compliance Division enforces unsafe‑building and minimum‑housing provisions and that since 2023 their efforts have helped result in eight residential demolitions. He said the proposed ordinance borrows language from state statute (repeated in the presentation as 160D‑12‑01) to authorize repair, closing, or demolition of abandoned structures that pose public‑health or safety hazards.
Brad Branham described the gap the ordinance targets: existing code covers building‑code violations and abandoned residential dwellings, but some long‑abandoned nonresidential buildings are structurally adequate enough to avoid a building‑code violation yet still attract trespass, illegal activity, and fires. The ordinance would give the city an additional nuisance‑based tool to require repairs, closures, or demolition when the statute's listed conditions apply (attraction of insects/rodents, fire hazards, dangerous conditions threatening children, or frequent use by vagrants without sanitary facilities).
Matheny said the compliance team has a current inventory of about 30 buildings (listed in the briefing as 16 residential and 14 commercial), excluding roughly 31 TS Helene‑related unsafe buildings being managed through a separate task group. He said staff created a rudimentary map and a risk assessment table to prioritize remediation based on condition duration, community complaints, fire/police activity, and estimated project cost.
Staff presented preliminary program estimates if the city pursued a staffed, funded removal program: two additional positions (an administrative position and a zoning enforcement officer) costing about $150,000 (including benefits) and a demolition estimate for the current inventory of about $2.3 million using contractor averages ($35,000 per residential and $125,000 per commercial demo). Matheny stressed these are very rough contractor estimates and that lien recovery is frequently slow and limited; Brad Branham added that liens are inferior to prior liens under statute but the law allows applying liens to other properties owned by the same owner in the jurisdiction. Neither the ordinance nor this program, as described, conveys ownership of properties to the city.
Council members asked for additional fiscal detail and requested another Public Safety presentation to include Council member Hess before forwarding the ordinance to full council. No ordinance vote or formal action occurred at this meeting.
