Oct 11, 2009 2 min read

Uniontown code enforcement officials from the fire department recorded about 23 violations of the Blight, Owners and Occupants Responsibilities Ordinance during exterior inspections of all 65 homes and rental properties on Coolspring Street. City Councilman Curtis Sproul, the city’s director of public safety who accompanied city firefighters on the inspection Monday, said three of the properties were completely dilapidated, but most of violations were minor.

The city will send letters to the owners of the properties with violations notifying them of the violations and giving them time to fix them, Sproul said.

Property owners who show good faith efforts to repair the problems probably won’t be cited, but those who don’t attempt to make repairs could be cited, he said.

“We’re looking for a good faith effort. If we get that, then we’ll work with them.” Sproul said.

Council adopted the ordinance in September after repealing the Regulated Rental Unit Occupancy Ordinance, which was adopted in 2007, but never put to use.

Some residents criticized the move, saying the Blight ordinance mandates only inspections of the exterior of homes and rental units, and would not address problems created by landlords who neglect their rental properties. The Regulated Rental Unit ordinance mandated interior and exterior inspections, required rental units to pass inspections before they could be rented and required landlords to obtain licenses.

The Blight ordinance requires inspections of single-family homes and owner-occupied rentals, which the Regulated Rental Unit ordinance did not.