Connellsville introduces new vacant property ordinance

CONNELLSVILLE — A handful of protesters didn’t dissuade City Council from approving the first reading of a vacant and abandoned property ordinance.
Shouting, “End blight, not our rights” and carrying signs, a small group of residents opposed to the ordinance rallied outside of city hall before Tuesday’s council meeting.
It was the third council meeting in which the ordinance was on the agenda, but the first time it came up for a vote. In the prior meetings, the ordinance was withdrawn from consideration and revised after landlords expressed concerns about it.
Council members voted 4-1 vote in favor of the ordinance. Councilman Tom Karpiak, one of two landlords on council, voted against the ordinance. Council will consider final adoption of the ordinance at its next meeting on Sept. 16.
The ordinance would require owners of vacant and abandoned residential and commercial structures to register those properties and pay registration fees. City code enforcement officers would inspect the interior and exterior of those properties at least once a year to see if they comply with the city’s property maintenance code and make sure they are secured against unauthorized entry.
The deadline to register those properties can be waived or extended if the owner is making a valid effort to sell, repair or demolish the structure.
A sunset provision terminates the ordinance after five years.
The vast majority of Connellsville Property Owners Association members support the ordinance, but all of them are opposed to the interior inspections, said Geno Gallo, an association member who was among the protesters.
“Everyone wants to end blight, but not at a cost this high,” Gallo said before the council meeting started.
Most of the people who addressed council during the meeting supported the ordinance.
Business owner Peter Jandura said he is in favor of the ordinance and asked Council Brad Geyer and Karpiak to abstain from the vote because they are landlords.
“If you vote against this ordinance, I’ll never forget,” Jandura said.
Mary Beth Salatino said she spent a lot of money fixing the blighted apartment building she bought on on East. Crawford Avenue four years ago and she supports the ordinance. She also called for Geyer and Karpiak to abstain from the vote.
“I think it’s imperative that we pass this ordinance,” said former councilman David McIntire.
He said business investments in the city have grown and the ordinance would help protect those investments and encourage more.
City Treasurer Judy Keller said 273 of the 3,000 taxable properties in the city are registered as rentals and 190 of them are owned by people who do not live in the city.
Non-residents might not be as concerned about the appearance of the city as residents are, she said.
Keller submitted petitions that she said contained more than 200 signatures of residents who support the ordinance.
Regal Fetterman of Morrell Avenue said blighted properties create many problems, but property owners have a right to be treated fairly.
He called the ordinance a double edged sword.
Business owner Roxanne Mongelluzzo said she renovated a blighted property for her business in 2001 and the building now has 40 employees, but prostitutes and drug dealers frequent the blighted buildings adjacent to hers.
She said she supports the ordinance.
Robert Carson, a Connellsville Township supervisor and president of the property owners association, said an ordinance to address blighted property is needed, but he is against the provision in the proposed ordinance allowing for interior inspections.
“There is a need for a blighted building ordinance,” Carson said.
However, if a code enforcement officer doesn’t see a code violation on the exterior of a building, there would be no reason to inspect the interior, he said.
Pro-active code enforcement would have prevented some of the blighted commercial buildings in town from becoming this way and rushing to catch up on those buildings now would violate the owners’ rights, Carson said.
Echoing Carson’s comments, Gallo said interior inspections shouldn’t be permitted if no exterior code violations exist.
Gallo told council that the ordinance gives too much power to the health board.
“There’s never going to be a perfect ordinance,” said Councilman Aaron Zolbrod, who introduced the ordinance.
He said the ordinance is fair and flexible.
Geyer said he would support a “trigger clause” that would allow for an interior inspection only of an exterior code violation was found.
“I don’t think we need to have interior inspections in this ordinance,” Geyer said.
He said he is not opposed to interior inspections of commercial buildings.
“Enough concessions have been made,” Zolbrod said.
Karpiak said he wants blight eliminated, but does not support inspections of residential properties.
“It’s an ordinance against property owners,” Karpiak said, adding that the city should target owners who neglect their buildings.
He said a land bank, which could acquire and sell properties, should be established before the ordinance is enacted.
Karpiak is spearheading an effort to create a land bank with surrounding communities including South Connellsville, Dunbar and Connellsville Township.
He said he fears that the ordinance would gradually be expanded to impose more regulations on property owners.