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Sponsor says $500 annual fee will help municipalities address blighted commercial properties
Summary
House Bill 2115 would let municipalities create vacant-property inventories for districts with five or more blighted properties and assess a $500 annual regulatory fee for commercial structures in those zones; sponsor framed it as a tool to motivate rehabilitation and offset inspection costs.
Representative Martin (speaker 16) told the committee House Bill 21-15 authorizes municipalities to create vacant-property inventory and inspection programs in designated areas with five or more deteriorating or blighted commercial properties. The bill would permit a $500 annual regulatory service charge for covered commercial structures to support inspections, no-trespass orders and administrative overhead.
Martin said the program is permissive and excludes residential property, properties with an active building permit, and properties actively listed for sale or lease. He told members the fee is intended as a motivating tool to get owners to clean up, lease, or sell properties that are draining local services, and the committee voted to send the bill to finance/ways and means.
