02-09-15 Agenda, Packet and Committee Meeting Notice

Home Browse Search

Substitute Bill No. 59 -14 Ordinance No. AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING SECTION 6 -37.1 OF THE SOUTHBEND MUNICIPAL CODE ADDRESSING VACANT BUILDING MAINTENANCE AND REGISTRATION STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT On November 26, 2007, the South Bend Common Council passed Ordinance No. 9810 -07. That ordinance created city -wide regulations addressing the registration and maintenance of vacant and abandoned buildings. In 2007, the City of South Bend initiated a three -year program costing $6.825 million to reduce the City's vacant houses by more than 115 and to reduce abandoned houses by 27 %. On February 27, 2013, the "Vacant & Abandoned Properties Task Force Report" was released with Mayor Pete Buttigieg called for 1,000 houses to be addressed in 1,000 days. A combination of rehabilitation and demolition activities has been ongoing. The original version of this ordinance was filed on October 21, 2014, and it was noted that as of date 606 properties had been addressed. The Department of Code Enforcement has reported that 930 properties have been mailed vacant and abandoned registration letters as of August 2014, summarized as follows: 248 (27 %) were sent to out of state owners; 225 (24 %) were sent to various forms of companies; 26 (3 %) were sent to banks; 32 (3 %) were sent to land trusts; 16 (2 %) were sent to various forms of non -profit corporations; with the remainder being federally - owned. The ongoing costs to the City of South Bend for implementation and enforcement of this program continue to increase. Therefore, the following fee adjustments are believed to be in the best interests of the City of South Bend, Indiana. ✓.� �; G /er u�. r t idaiiime'l/ /i/e iJIIyelne97 Section I. Section 6- 37.1(h) of Chapter 6, Article 8 of the South Bend Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: (h) Registration Fees. (1) The owner of any building required to be register under this section shall pay an annual registration fee to the Department of Code Enforcement upon registration. However, the owner of a building that is vacant but not abandoned within the meaning of this section, who voluntarily registers the building pursuant to Subsection (d)(3), is not required to pay a registration fee. (2) If the building is used for or zoned for residential purposes and contains not more than three (3) residential units the registration fee shall be fifty . dollars ($50 -�v0) three hundred dollars per year.