Port Jervis council opens public hearing on Local Law No. 6 to revise vacant-building fee schedule

The Port Jervis City Council on Monday opened a public hearing on Local Law No. 6, a proposal to change the city’s fee schedule for abandoned, vacant, boarded or foreclosed buildings.

City staff told the council the amendment would revise City Code sections 4-15-10 and 2-80-15 to add fee provisions that apply after a property has been vacant for 10 years. "This is to amend sections 4 15 10 and 2 80 15 of the city code, which addresses abandoned, vacant, boarded, or foreclosed buildings," a city staff member summarized. Staff said the original fee schedule covered only the first nine years and had not specified what would happen after 10 years, and that some banks have been paying the fees rather than remediating or returning properties to productive use.

A member of the public urged faster action by property owners and lenders. "When we first established this law, it was in hopes that people would renovate their homes quicker ... It would be great if they were fixing up their properties a little bit quicker so we didn't have to find them and the properties would go to people that could live in them," the commenter said.

Council members moved and approved opening and later closing the public hearing by voice vote; the hearing notice had been posted and published "in accordance with law," staff said. No vote on adoption of Local Law No. 6 was recorded during the meeting; the council simply opened the hearing, accepted comments and closed it.

The summary presented to the council emphasized that the amendment is intended to ensure fees can be properly assessed for properties vacant more than a decade and to provide the city clearer authority to address long-term vacancies. Details about the exact fee amounts, effective dates or implementation steps were not provided at the meeting and were listed as "not specified."