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City solicitor reports progress on vacant-building enforcement and pending Bangor Mall litigation
Summary
City Solicitor David Sopcak reported reduced vacant-building listings and described ongoing litigation with the Bangor Mall owner Namdar, including a $38,966.59 reimbursement already recouped and an upcoming $1,154,215 civil-penalty deadline while Namdar seeks deadline extensions the city opposes.
City Solicitor David Sopcak told the council the legal department has made enforcement progress under the vacant building registration ordinance and provided a public update on the Bangor Mall litigation.
Sopcak said nine properties have been removed from the vacant-building list since the beginning of the year and that, overall, 67 properties have been removed since the program began. He said 56 properties are currently on the list, 40 are registered and 18 are not registered; registration lasts six months.
On court matters, Sopcak said of 11 land-use matters sent to court, nine have resolved by judgment or administrative consent agreements that typically result in registration and payment of restoration fees. He cautioned that legal resources are limited: the department has two attorneys and one part-time assistant working on these matters among other duties.
Sopcak gave a public update on the Bangor Mall litigation: the city recouped $38,966.59 for sewer repairs required after a sinkhole; the court ordered owners to submit a post-construction stormwater maintenance plan and a comprehensive remediation plan within 45 days. Namdar submitted a stormwater plan that the city’s stormwater manager found noncompliant and has not submitted the comprehensive remediation plan, Sopcak said. The order also requires abatement of remaining violations by June 15 and assessed $1,154,215 in civil penalties that will be due soon; Sopcak said Namdar has filed a motion to extend the court deadlines and the city has filed an opposition.
Sopcak also described work on ethics-board procedural-rule updates, noting the board adopted new procedural rules and that council amendments to add deadlines and implementation steps are under staff review. He said legal is drafting an internal employee policy to guide staff responses when federal immigration-enforcement agents seek access to nonpublic city spaces or records; that policy will be posted on the city’s internal server and can be shared with the council for review.
Sopcak said legal has included a request for public-records software in its budget and plans cross-department training to improve FOIA response timeliness.
The council did not take votes on enforcement or litigation items during the workshop; Sopcak said staff will pursue the legal opposition to Namdar’s deadline extension and bring matters to council as appropriate.
