Councilmember Hamilton Everfield directs city attorney to draft downtown vacant-structure registry ordinance

Councilmember Hamilton Everfield asked the Port Arthur City Council on Nov. 18 to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance establishing a registry of vacant structures in the downtown area. The council voted to provide the instruction and the motion passed unanimously.

Everfield said the registry would help "hold property owners of vacant structures accountable" and support downtown revitalization by requiring owners of buildings intended for human occupancy to register and provide a plan for what they intend to do with the property. "If the property has been vacant for approximately six months or so," Everfield said, the city should be able to require a plan of action that could lead to enforcement such as fines if owners do not maintain properties.

City Attorney summarized how a similar Dallas ordinance worked: it required registration of the building and owner, an emergency contact, interior property inspections, proof of insurance and a vacant-building plan that explained the owner's intentions (sell, hold, redevelop). The city attorney said the Dallas model had five main components and that a registry was "a very proactive plan" used by other cities.

Councilmember Everfield moved that the council provide instruction to the city attorney to draft the ordinance for the Downtown Port Arthur area; the motion received a second and passed with the ayes. The council asked that the city attorney prepare draft language and circulate it to council for review at a future meeting.

The ordinance drafting is the next procedural step; no ordinance was adopted at the Nov. 18 meeting. The city attorney and staff are expected to present a draft for council consideration and possible formal action in a future meeting.