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Committee sends vacant‑and‑nuisance property CCR to Planning committee to explore enforcement, receivership and land banking
Summary
City staff recommended and the committee approved referral of a CCR on vacant and nuisance properties to the Planning and Community Development Committee to explore registration/inspection expansion, a sliding registration fee scale, interlocal foreclosure tools, and receivership/land‑banking options.
Staff from the Office of Historic Preservation briefed the Governance Committee on a CCR that asks the city to strengthen registration and inspection of vacant properties, consider a sliding scale for registration fees, explore an interlocal agreement with Bexar County to accelerate lien foreclosure, and assess receivership and land‑banking tools. The committee voted to refer the item to the Planning and Community Development Committee for further analysis.
Why it matters: Councilmembers noted neighborhood quality‑of‑life and public‑health problems tied to long‑term vacant lots and structures, including illegal dumping and rodent infestations. Staff described program capacity limits and said a recently funded enforcement position in Development Services should help identify and bring more properties into compliance.
Staff detail and next steps: Shannon Miller, director of the Office of Historic Preservation, said the city's vacant building program currently covers 100%‑vacant buildings in designated program areas and does not apply to vacant lots in all neighborhoods. Staff will explore fee structures used in other cities, legal constraints on foreclosure of code liens, funding sources for receivership (including housing funds) and the mechanics of land banking. The committee approved moving the CCR to PCDC for further assessment.
