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Lancaster outlines code‑enforcement push: abatements, vacant‑property registry and anti‑vending injunctions
Summary
City staff reported abatement work on vacant and illegal‑grow properties, a new vacant‑property registration ordinance funding a 'Yards Smart' program, and legal steps to seek injunctions against persistently noncompliant street vendors after three years of failed permitting attempts.
Justin Hillman, the city’s community preservation manager, briefed the commission on code‑enforcement and parking work across Lancaster. Hillman said the department is at 10 officers with one additional hire approved for July and outlined several active projects: pursuing an abatement warrant for a former illegal cannabis cultivation site with seven unsafe structures; a completed abatement on a vacant parcel that removed 13 “red pods” and a pending hearing over cost recovery; and escalation to civil injunctions against repeat illegal street vendors who have refused permitting for three years.
Hillman described the recently enacted vacant‑property registration ordinance (chapter 9.55) as a tool to require inspections, assign fees based on blight level, and fund the Yards Smart beautification program. He said three additional AI cameras were approved for the city-detect program to be mounted on street sweepers and parking/parking-enforcement vehicles to augment staff oversight of blighted properties.
The presentation included program metrics: 22 tons of trash removed weekly by homeless‑engagement teams, 4 of 10 Yards Smart properties completed this fiscal year and parking enforcement tallies for the first quarter (including 2,871 citations for posted sweep signage). Hillman said the city had contracted four towing vendors for the new towing agreement and hired a dedicated code‑enforcement attorney to accelerate legal remedies.
Commissioners and sheriff’s staff praised the department’s education-plus-enforcement approach. Staff recommended using the city app as the fastest public channel to file code‑enforcement reports; the app launches cases the next day, Hillman said. The commission took no immediate enforcement votes but will receive ongoing updates on abatement and injunction actions.
