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With one of its members citing the broken windows theory, the Brookings City Council on Monday approved an ordinance that would charge vacant property owners a $25 annual fee and require them to fill out a registration form.
The decision wasn’t unanimous. Council President Andy Martin said he felt the city should invest in economic development and make decisions that would attract businesses to Brookings. Requiring the owners of vacant properties to pay an annual fee and register with the city was government overreach, he said.
“I think government should get involved as little as possible in telling people what they can and can’t do with their property,” he said.
Martin also drew attention to a provision in the vacant property registration ordinance requiring owners to carry liability insurance, asking staff if the city requires proof of insurance for buildings that are occupied.
The answer to Martin’s question was no, according to Tony Baron, the city’s public works and economic services director.
The new vacant property registration ordinance is a product of previous workshop discussions on means to protect the city’s business and industrial zones from blight. Other communities have established similar registries, Baron said, to avoid abandoned buildings falling into disrepair and negatively impacting property values.
Vacant property registries ensure the owners are aware of their obligation to the city and that they meet a minimum standard for maintenance of their properties, Baron said. It also allows the city to reach vacant property owners and other “interested parties” if necessary, he said.
The economic services director also outlined common misconceptions about vacant property registration ordinances. According to him, one misconception is that vacant property registries discourage firms from investing and lending and that they raise the cost of property ownership and trample on private property rights.
“If an owner of a vacant property finds $25 too burdensome to pay it’s unlikely they will invest in the $25,000 required to redo their roof and mechanical systems,” Baron said. “As their vacant property deteriorates, the property values of the neighboring properties will decline and the neighborhood’s real market will suffer. The fact is many more property owners’ rights are infringed upon by blighted or deteriorated buildings than the property rights of a single owner of a vacant property.”
According to City Manager Tim Rundel, staff estimate that there are between 15 and 20 vacant commercial buildings in Brookings.
The ordinance goes into effect in 30 days, but property owners have 180 days before staff determine the community’s current inventory of vacant properties and notify the owners of the new ordinance, Rundel told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday.
If they find those buildings are vacant, they will send a notice to the property owners via certified mail within seven days with a copy of the registration form and a statement of their obligations to the city.
The new ordinance requires vacant property owners to register their buildings or properties as soon as they know they are vacant or within 30 days of receiving a letter from the city reminding them to fill out the registration form.
Vacant property owners must designate a local property manager and provide their contact information to the city, provide proof of liability insurance for the property as well as information about pending litigation concerning the property including bankruptcy cases.
In some cases a vacant property owner might be required to submit a vacant property plan that prevents said property from becoming a public nuisance.
The regulations also require the names, physical, mailing, email addresses and telephone numbers of all owners associated with the vacant property be provided to the city.
The new ordinance also addresses boarded up buildings, stating that, while it’s a public nuisance, it’s a temporary solution to prevent “unauthorized entry into a vacant building.”
“A vacant building may not remain boarded longer than three months,” the new regulations state.
Failing to comply with the ordinance could result in administrative fines of up to $720, according to the new regulations
It was Councilwoman Phoebe Pereda who cited the broken windows theory, the idea that keeping properties from falling into disrepair discourages crime and benefits the whole community.
According to her, not only will a vacant property registry guard against blight, it will allow the city to have a record and a means of contacting the owner should something happen.
Pereda said she also spoke with the city manager and a city councilmember from Veneta, Oregon, which enacted its vacant property registration ordinance about a year ago. According to her, Veneta’s ordinance has been successful.
“It sounds like the success has been really due to the [code enforcement] officer kind of cajoling compliance and property owners being willing to acknowledge the problem and get on the right path,” Pereda told her colleagues. “I think they’re a similar sized community and [can be] a real good model for us.”
Brookings Mayor Isaac Hodges said he appreciated Martin’s position, but $25 is a minor cost and the vacant property registration fee isn’t punitive. He also pointed to other programs, such as the city’s facade improvement program as examples of the community working with business owners.
“We have a lot of carrots,” he said. “We need a little bit of a stick.”
