Those costs include demolitions, boarding up and securing vacant properties, removal of junk and trash, lawn mowing and property maintenance.
“The city should not be using its resources to bail out people who are living off the taxpayers and not living up to their responsibilities to keep the city clean and safe,” Estop said.
City commissioners approved increases totaling $148,000 for services such as lawn and weed cutting, trash hauling and abatement of nuisance conditions.
The city instituted a Rental Registration Program earlier this year, notifying hundreds of local landlords of the requirement to complete a registration application and self-inspection of each of the properties they lease or rent. The self-inspection includes basic property maintenance information about the roof, doors, windows, floors, electrical and other basic health and safety related conditions. City officials want to encourage the owners to visit the property to see conditions for themselves.
Once the application is received, the city will conduct an exterior inspection of the property and, if it meets code conditions, a three-year rental license will be issued. If city inspectors identify issues with a property, owners will be notified by letter and given 90 days to correct the problem.
Altogether, there are an estimated 7,000 properties on the city’s list of identified rental properties, representing half of the city’s households.
City Manager Bryan Heck explained that areas throughout the city have been included in the nuisance properties clean-up effort, which is driven by citizen complaints.
“We receive phone calls, emails, complaints, reports of concerns on our website. When we receive those we have code enforcement officers who complete an inspection,” Heck said.
If inspectors find code violations, the city notifies the property owner, who is given time to rectify the situation, depending on the type of violation it is.
“After that time period has elapsed, the code enforcement officer will reinspect the property,” Heck said. “If it’s been dealt with, great. If not, then we pursue solutions.”
For example, if the problem is weeds and high grass, the city has contractors it works who are sent out to mow.
“We will then bill the property owner,” Heck said. “If it’s a larger issue, such as a demolition, we will try to recover the costs or start a fining process.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The city also implemented a vacant property registry in 2020 aimed at addressing problems related to absentee property owners and requiring that a point of contact for emergencies and city code problems be provided so the city can hold property owners responsible. Officials have cited injuries to first responders reporting to fires at vacant properties as one of the reasons the vacant property registry is needed.
Citizens can report abandoned, dangerous of unsafe properties to the city by contacting the Community Development Department at 937-324-7380 or by visiting the city’s website, https://www.springfieldmo.gov/5566/Report-a-Concern.
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