Topic:  Vacant Buildings

Attendees:

Marty Collins, Milwaukee
Ron Smith & Frank Oswald, St. Louis
Kimberly Brown, Deputy Commissioner, Chicago
Kurt Berger, Tom Condit, Chicago
Florencio Pena, San Antonio
Claude Cooper, Richmond
Robert Wible, NCSBCS

AMCBO Chairman Claude Cooper welcomed everyone to the call. He noted there were several items to cover with the members before they moved into the topic of this month’s call – What major jurisdictions are doing with vacant buildings.

Mr. Cooper reminded members of their ability to access on the members portion of the NCSBCS/AMCBO website, the new public sector message board, the Code Administrator Communicator. Mr. Cooper noted that directions to access the message board had been transmitted to members along with the January and February member e-Bulletin.

Mr. Cooper mentioned the AMCBO membership drive and asked for assistance to bring other major cities and surrounding counties into AMCBO membership. Membership fliers were sent to AMCBO members with the January Newsletter.

Lastly, Mr. Cooper reminded everyone about the upcoming February 23 NCSBCS/AMCBO public sector members important issues call that would cover best practices in homeland security. (Call being held noon eastern time.)

Mr. Cooper invited Milwaukee building official Marty Collins to open the discussion of this topic with an overview of his city’s program.

Mr. Collins noted that vacant buildings have become a very complicated program in most of the cities he has talked with recently. He noted there were several major approaches being used to address what is not only a building department issue but also one that impacts police, fire, historic preservation and social services of a city.

He indicated some cities register all structures that are vacant on a website (St. Paul, MN) with information on owner and value of the property as a way to potentially attract investors or developers who may be interested in acquiring the property for redevelopment.

Other cities take a straight approach to offer the property for repurchase. If there are no takers, the property will be demolished to eliminate it as a potential crime factor.

Mr. Collins reported that Milwaukee under its ordinances tears down 50% of the buildings that have been vacant for 6 months and that have code violations the building owners have not corrected. He said that the city tries to motivate people to make corrections. Chattanooga, TN for example, tries to shame owners into making corrections by putting up 4’ X 8’ signs noting who owns the derelict building and will put ads in newspapers where the owner lives noting that they hold abandoned run down properties.

Mr. Collins said that some jurisdictions use a hybrid system. Alameda, California, has a boarded up building code and owners have 90 days in which to fix up an abandoned property to meet at least a minimum standard or face demolition at the owners expense.

Milwaukee is considering a Board and Vacant Resolution. After 6 months, the city has authority to issue a directive to the owner giving him 30 days to make corrections and to take the boards off the abandoned structure.

In that city the owner can either get a rehab permit for their building or, if the building has been designated a historic structure, can get a mothball permit to seal and hold the building as is until it can be rehabilitated under historic preservation guidelines. If owners do not make the minimum repairs mandated by the city, then the city can set the property at fair market value.

One of the problems being confronted by many cities is that in fringe areas speculators are buying up abandoned properties and then just sitting on them hoping values will go up or a major redevelopment initiative will be launched there.

Mr. Collins said that his city has experimented with SkunkShot (also being used in Los Angeles) as a chemical that is activated inside abandoned buildings and is so nauseous that squatters and others will not try to enter and inhabit the boarded up buildings. The website for this product is http://www.connovation.co.nz/mainsite/Product.SkunkShot.html.

Milwaukee has an ordinance – 25 illegal acts or 3 at a premises within a 30 day period and the building can be declared a chronic nuisance and go after a tax lien. 81% of the owners comply after the first such letter from the city. Get 100% compliance with the city’s tax bill.

Ron Smith from St. Louis noted that abandoned and vacant buildings are a problem in his city as well. He said the city has a new tool - legislation that establishes a nuisance ordinance regarding vacant and abandoned buildings.

The first part of the ordinance involves "behavioral nuisances." This applies to buildings that house (legally or illegally) people whose behavior generates numerous police calls. The Mayor is having the City Council look at ways of getting the building into the hands of a different owner, one who will fix the building up.

Secondly, the city can issue a fine and after 6 months or more violations the property can be put under notice for sale by the city.

In addition to the above, St. Louis has an active demolition program. Forty-five buildings are taken down by the city each year under the authority of their condemnation ordinance where the building does not comply with the code and has been vacant for more than a year.

Question: How do you handle out-of-state owners of abandoned buildings?

Answer: This is the same basic problem in most cities. St. Louis places liens against them.

Richmond recovers only 4% of those liens. City Council in Richmond takes liens to equity court and then has the building turned over to the city as its property if the liens aren’t paid. St. Louis does the same.

St. Louis follows a program similar to Milwaukee for nuisance buildings. City issues a cease and desist letter and then takes penalties to next level with the city attorney stepping in to get the property to someone else.

St. Louis has 15 designated historic districts in the city. Consideration is being given to put demolitions under the control of a special preservation board.

Chicago has the legal authority to pursue owners who live out of state.

Florencio Pena from San Antonio noted that because of the way his authority is set up his department is not directly involved. A dangerous buildings board handles abandoned and vacant buildings. The city runs an incentive program to get new owners for buildings whose owners can’t or won’t fix them up to code.

San Antonio uses CDBG funds and tax funds to save historic buildings and renovate them. The city also does about 200 demolitions a year that have been approved by the dangerous premises boards.

Mr. Pena asked if others were having problems with RAVE’s being run in abandoned and vacant warehouses? Everyone said yes that this has been or is a problem. Claude Cooper offered to send everyone a copy of ways in which his department was addressing this problem.

Historic plan examiners must approval all demolitions in San Antonio so we can preserve our buildings. City’s structural engineers first must rule on whether or not the building can be safely saved.

Question: Is attached housing a problem elsewhere? How do you handle?

Answer: St. Louis has this problem. If the building next door is collapsing, the city works with councilman or alderman to get the occupants out of the livable unit and housed elsewhere and then takes down the derelict building.

Kimberly Brown, Assistant Commissioner in Chicago, reported she has several vacant building programs to chose from in an effort to put buildings back into use.

There is a mandatory Vacant Property Register that buildings must be on within 30 days. The owner pays a fee – can recoup the admission fee of $100/year and owner is required to have fire insurance on the property. Chicago has had this program for 24 months. If you fail to register your property, there is a $200 - $500/day fine.

The city monitors buildings. If they are vacant they must be secured. If the building becomes unsecured at anytime, then the building is entered into the city’s demolition program. City has a Slum Nuisance Ordinance and can take down a building in 3 months. The city can foreclose on nuisance properties.

City has a Troubled Buildings Initiative. It identifies those causing nuisances and works to get building in good enough shape to rehab.

All vacant buildings are posted with the owner’s name and contact information in effort to encourage renovation. City has a fast track demolition program in response to several rapes in abandoned properties.

Chicago has an exterior facade ordinance and covers porches as well. The city has 178 inspectors for over 1,000,000 buildings.

The city goes after out-of-state owners and works closely with the Department of Housing and Landmarks to encourage housing conversions in once vacant properties. Attached housing is not a problem in Chicago.

The city has day-to-day fines that can get upwards of $300,000 to $500,000 to shift over the property to those who are willing to develop. Chicago has 9 inspectors in its vacant buildings and demolition program. The city has a very tenacious department of revenues that garnishes revenues.

Question: Are others of you having problems with detached housing?

Answer: St. Louis has this problem. We work with councilmen/aldermen to get the occupants out into other housing and take the derelict building down.

Richmond buys out the safe side and then takes down the structure.

Question: Please tell us more about Milwaukee’s "mothballing program."

Answer: This program is not widely used. Generally it is being used in areas being gentrified. Owners go into the program for only 30/60/90 day periods. If necessary, we can give longer times (up to 2 years) before rehabilitation must occur.

On vacant buildings in an historic district, our code allows the city to make safety repairs and put those costs on the owner’s taxes.

We use ever possible abatement technique in Milwaukee. Tax liens give us ability to actually own a building within three years.

Question: Anyone else doing anything to minimize visual blight?

Answer: Some cities are using hardware cloth to cover as opposed to boarding up the building. Richmond uses the clauses of our property maintenance code that mandates the vacant building be painted white by the owner and posted with a sign.

Milwaukee finds that the SkunkShot product really does keep down the number of abandoned buildings being lived in by vagrants. LAPD also uses this.

Question: Upon demolition do you take the building down to the footings? Fill in the basements?

Answer: Milwaukee goes to footings 3 feet below grade. Chicago brings building down to grade and backfills the foundation with dirt.

Mr. Cooper noted that the call had run past the 1:00 p.m. timeframe. He thanked everyone for participating on the call. At 1:15 p.m. the call was adjourned. The next AMCBO members call will be held March 11, 2005. A topic for that call will be selected shortly.