WYANDOTTE — While most city officials say vacant houses are becoming a concern, they don’t believe a proposed ordinance is the answer.
The idea generated spirited debate at the City Council’s Jan. 24 meeting after City Attorney William Look submitted, at the council’s request, a proposed ordinance to regulate abandoned residential structures.
“This ordinance is patterned after an ordinance adopted by the city of Battle Creek which has been approved by the Michigan Court of Appeals,” Look told the council.
He said the definition of an abandoned residential structure would be a dwelling or accessory to the dwelling that has become vacant or abandoned for a period of at least 28 days, and, in addition, meets one of 11 listed conditions set forth in the proposed ordinance.
Those criteria include conditions such as being open to casual entry or trespass, fire damaged to the point of prohibiting safe occupancy, being the site of loitering or vagrancy, or under notice for being in violation of city ordinances.
The ordinance also would establish a registration process for vacant or abandoned properties for the purpose of providing requirements for the owners to maintain the property in order to protect the public health and safety, to prevent neighborhood blight and to ensure properties are secure.
The owner of an abandoned residential structure would be required to pay an annual registration fee in an amount established by council resolution.
“I am not in favor of adopting this ordinance for a number of reasons,” said Councilwoman Sheri Sutherby-Fricke, a licensed real estate agent. “Battle Creek and other cities adopted these ordinances because of foreclosures. Normally, these fees are being passed along to the buyer.”
Sutherby-Fricke said that because former owners have abandoned the houses, they aren’t paying the fee. She said that when banks balk at paying, the fees are added to the selling price of the house, resulting in a sales decline in communities that have approved this type of ordinance.
“It’s not a way to attract buyers,” she said.
Sutherby-Fricke said the ordinance also doesn’t address houses that are vacant for several months at a time when so-called “snowbirds” head south for the winter, or other residents who go on extended out-of-town trips.
Councilman Todd Browning, the most outspoken advocate of forcing property owners to maintain abandoned buildings, said some of his colleagues are looking at it from a different angle than what he had in mind.
“I would be interested in seeing the information you have,” Browning said to Sutherby-Fricke. “I looked at it as how it would improve these trashy eyesores. Blight breeds more blight. We’ve had issues with squatters.”
Browning said it was his understanding that foreclosures constitute a transfer of ownership. But Sutherby-Fricke reiterated her point that the burden of paying the fee and any penalties would be borne by buyers, who had nothing to do with a building’s condition prior to purchase.
Most council members said they are aware of what has become a growing problem over the past couple of years.
“I have a home next door to me that’s in some state of that (foreclosure),” Councilman Lawrence Stec said. “I shoveled the snow today.”
Browning said the fee required by the proposed ordinance could help maintain a database of registered vacant houses. He said it’s important for the city to have contact information for every vacant house.
As he sees it, many banks aren’t properly maintaining houses they own and the city can do very little about it.
“I don’t think our bite has any teeth right now,” Browning said.
Regarding the snowbird argument, Browning said he doesn’t believe this would affect retirees who spend the winter in southern climates, because they still get mail delivery at the address and utilities are not cut off.
While most abandoned houses remain vacant for a matter of months, Councilman James DeSana said he’s aware of a house that’s been empty for 10 years.
Look told the council to let him know if members want to make changes to the proposed ordinance, or if they would like him to present it again in the future.
Although there was general agreement that vacant houses are presenting a problem in the city, there was little agreement on how to fix it.
The council unanimously agreed to file the proposed ordinance for now.
Contact Staff Writer Jim Kasuba at jimk@heritage.com.
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