Good start
Vacant and abandoned buildings are a problem in many Fayette County municipalities, becoming magnets for crime and lowering property values for nearby residents.
Over the past decade, the blight has become so widespread in many municipalities that it’s affecting entire communities.
Thus, it was good to see Connellsville City Council take action recently to deal with the problem by approving the first reading of a vacant and abandonded property ordinance.
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 In the prior meetings, the ordinance was withdrawn from consideration and revised after landlords expressed concerns about it.
By a 4-1 vote, council approved an ordinance requiring owners of vacant and abandoned residential and commercial structures to register those properties and pay registration fees. City code enforcement officers will 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.
City Treasurer Judy Keller said one of the problems is that of the 273 rental properties in the city, 190 of them are owned by people who do not live in the city. She said the fear is they might not be as concerned about the appearance of Connellsville as residents of the city would be. She makes an excellent point, one that points up the need for such an ordinance.
Overall, it does seem that the ordinance is supported by many residents of the city as Keller submitted petitions that she said contained more than 200 signatures of residents who support the ordinance.
However, all was not smooth sailing as some people spoke out against the measure.
Robert Carson, a Connellsville Township supervisor and president of the Connellsville Property Owners Association, said his group supports the ordinance in general, but its members are opposed to the portion of the ordinance allowing for interior inspections.
He said if a code enforcement officer doesn’t see a code violation on the exterior of a building, there shouldn’t be a reason to inspect the interior.
Gene Gallo, a member of the association, said the fear is that such a measure would give too much power to code enforcement officers, who would enforce the ordinance.
Those are legitimate concerns. Perhaps the ordinance could be amended to require approval from council or the mayor for interior inspections of residential properties. That would provide some safeguards from arbitrary checks.
Let’s hope some changes can be made to satisfy the legitimate concerns of property owners before council gives final approval to the ordinance at its next meeting on Sept. 16.
In the end, though, this ordinance shouldn’t be bogged down in details. The issue of curbing blight is too important to be derailed at the last minute by petty concerns. Connellsville must move forward with the ordinance if the city is to prosper in the future. It’s as simple as that.