HomeMy WebLinkAboutEncouraging the City to Development a "Mow to Own" Program RESOLUTION
4513-15
Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana
November 23, 15
20
Attest: \ City Clerk
Attest President of Common Council
Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana
November 24, 15
20
C—LAL—dreAk-- City Clerk
Approved and signed by me t'7ec,aw.beot
Mayor
RESOLUTION NO. S(3 'ISM
A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ENCOURAGING THE CITY TO DEVELOP A
"MOW TO OWN" PROGRAM
v/�7eerare, the South Bend Common Council notes that on July 13, 2015, Resolution No.
4474-15 was adopted by the Council. It recommended that a "tall grass/weed abatement pilot
program focusing on providing youth with working opportunities and life skills training and
development..."and was approved by the Mayor on July 14, 2015; and
Olciamei, the pilot program addressed in Resolution No. 4474-15 is under the"jurisdiction of
the Department of Code Enforcement"with an update from that Department to be shared with the
Common Council's Health and Public Safety Committee during November of 2015; and
•
tea, South Bend, like many other communities are addressing the many problems
associated with vacant and abandoned properties; and
one program which has begun in the City of Memphis, Tennessee, would permit
the owner(s) of real estate which adjoin a vacant lot owned by the City or Shelby County to mow
that government-owned property and eventually take ownership of the vacant property; and
OCao, attached to this Resolution are copies of the initial Memphis City Council Resolution,as
well as their 5-page ordinance creating a"Mow to Own Program"which addresses:
1. Program Eligibility
2. Application Requirements
3. Memorandum of Understanding
4. Approval and Implementation
.dorm', .r/e P074 le a refal a 4 S ?anion tom/104e c r jrnetda&rend,
Yneana, Wallowd:
Section I. The South Bend Common Council believes that viable programs such as the one being
developed in Memphis, Tennessee, addressing a "Mow to Own Program" should be carefully
studied, to see if it would be feasible for the City of South Bend.
Section II. Recognizing that state laws may be different,by moving forward to explore a similar
"Mow to Own" concept in South Bend at this time, may result in State Senators and State
Representatives, who represent our area of the state, to collaborate with local public officials and
concerned citizens so that proposed legislation, if determined to be necessary would be introduced
for the next session of the Indiana General Assembly.
Resolution on Mow to Own
Page 2
Section III. The Common Council therefore calls upon the City Administration to collaborate
together with the Council in examining the Memphis' "Mow to Own" program to see if such a
program would be effective and in the best interests of the citizens of South Bend, Indiana.
Section IV. This Resolution shall be in full force and effec ,1 om and after its adoption by the
Common Council and approval by the Mayor.
Al O
' enrr Davis, Jr., 2"a District Council Member
South Bend Common Council
Votes in Favor YJ
Votes in Opposition 0
John Voorde, City Clerk
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J ice Talboom, Deputy City Clerk
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gteg, Mayor
City of South Bend, Indiana
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NOT APPROO
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Common Council
City of South Bend Indiana
Henry Davis,Jr.,2nd District Council Member
4th Floor County-City Building
227 West Jefferson Boulevard
South Bend,Indiana 46601
(574)235-5983 (574)235-9173 Facsimile
(574)235-5567 TTY/TDD
November 13, 2015
The South Bend Common Council
4th Floor County-City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601 Re: "Mow to Own"Resolution
Dear Council Members:
During my eight (8) years of service on the Common Council, I have championed many causes
and programs to help improve the quality of life and employment in our City. I have always been
an advocate and voice for the residents of the 2nd District during my two (2) terms of office.
Unfortunately the 2nd District has far too many vacant and abandoned structures. Many of those
structures have been demolished, and those properties then became the focus of ongoing
complaints of the trash, tall grass and weeds. I am therefore, introducing the attached Resolution,
and I ask my fellow Council Members to review, discuss and adopt it enthusiastically and
unanimously. It asks for leaders at the local and state level to collaborate together for the purpose
of creating an effective"Mow to Own"program in the City of South Bend.
I have attached the resolution and the ordinance from Memphis, Tennessee, as a program which
should be carefully studied. Memphis had 3,500 vacant lots in their county land bank system with
97% of those being within the city limits of Memphis. Their program may be a viable roadmap
for the development of a similar program here. If new state regulations are needed, we need to
engage our state senators and state representatives to remove potential obstacles.
I request that the proposed Resolution and the Memphis documents be carefully studied and heard
in the Council's Health and Public Safety Committee. I urge you to be pro-active and join me on
this proposed initiative. Thank you.
Most s. ely,
lir.i F° „�, CIP!l 's Offoc
�i, ►,avis, Jr. retlaa �,.
nd District Council Member
; tiV 16 Z015
€ iC,sOU H
CITY CLE BEND,