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Council adopts revised nuisance‑properties ordinance after second reading
Summary
After a second reading and discussion of definitional and enforcement changes, the council adopted Ordinance 2025‑03 (nuisance properties), adding legal‑compliance language, revising dwelling‑unit counting and assigning enforcement to a nuisance‑property team.
The Barre City Council voted Dec. 16 to adopt Ordinance 2025‑03 on nuisance properties following a second reading and council discussion of substantive edits made since the first reading on Nov. 18, 2025.
City staff summarized edits in section 26: the ordinance now clarifies it “shall not be interpreted to violate the Fair Housing Act, Vermont Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, the Violence Against Women Act, or the Americans with Disabilities Act,” language added at a councilor’s suggestion. Staff also clarified how buildings of four or more units are counted for citation thresholds, exempted assault and medical‑emergency calls from triggering citation counts, revised notice methods to be consistent with the minimum‑housing ordinance, and shifted enforcement from the general code enforcement team to a nuisance‑property enforcement team that includes the manager, fire chief and police chief.
Councilors questioned how the policy would treat a single problematic unit in a larger building and how abatement plans and certificates of occupancy revocation would be managed. Staff said mitigation and abatement plans would be tailored to the specific problem, and that successful compliance would reset the enforcement clock; revocation of occupancy remains a last‑resort, case‑specific remedy with timing influenced by life‑safety concerns. The ordinance includes an appeal path to civil court within 30 days of a council decision, consistent with Vermont civil procedure.
The council moved to adopt the ordinance and the motion carried by voice vote; staff will publish the adopted ordinance and implement the enforcement team procedures described in the ordinance text.
