Nuisance ordinance has teeth Establishes steps aldermen can take to reduce problems
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Economic effects are being seen in Bella Vista by the increase of seemingly abandoned and incomplete new home sites.
To lessen the problem, the City Council passed a nuisance ordinance on Sept. 22, which then went into effect immediately.
Normally an ordinance takes 30 days to become law, but at the last meeting, that same evening, Alderwoman Arline Hutchison proposed Council complete the process immediately.
The City Council members agreed, declaring it an emergency situation, and put the ordinance into effect as soon as it was approved - which was unanimously.
The ordinance details the procedure for declaring a property or building a nuisance and how, legally, city officials may fine, destroy or sell it.
It does not give a definition of what constitutes a nuisance.
At this point, Mayor Frank Anderson said he and City Attorney Jason Kelley will be working together to determine the procedures and documentation that will be needed.
"We haven't gotten it all done yet; I thought we would have another month or so to work on it (the procedures ). But we don't have to do it within a particular time frame," said Anderson.
They are currently working on learning the stages of bankruptcy, foreclosure and how the court proceeds.
"We'll test one or two cases and see how it goes," the mayor said.
Anderson defines nuisance structures as properties that have been neglected over time, a building or partial building that is not inhabitable or being maintained, or a structure that has suffered a natural disaster that has not been repaired.
"We are basically looking at protecting the general public, and for the most part, at first, we will consider uninhabited structures only."
These are properties that Anderson believes need a push from the city to get them repaired, maintained, or completed.
Examples include a home damaged by fire that has been neglected for more than a year, unfinished homes that have sat for months, and one up-scale home that has been abandoned.
Until the city has an enforcement officer, Anderson and Kelley will be making the determination if a property is a nuisance or not.
Part of the difficulty lies in determining ownership on some properties; sometimes the builder is in the process of filing bankruptcy, or out of state owners can be difficult to contact.
The ordinance provides the steps, and time frames, of notifying owners. The determination of a nuisance structure is done by resolution of the City Council.
The property owner may attend, and be heard, at the first meeting of the Council when the resolution will be presented for vote.
When the resolution is passed, it must be posted on the building in question for 30 days prior to officials taking any additional action.
A copy of the resolution is mailed to the owner and any mortgage or lien holders.
If the nuisance property is not repaired, torn down by the owner, or the problem otherwise dealt with within the 30 days, the City Council will meet again. According to the ordinance, Council can at that time authorize the building inspector to go ahead with removing the structure.
At that time, the owner will have an additional opportunity to be heard. In cases where the structure is not razed, after giving 10 days notice in a newspaper, the property may be sold at public auction to the highest bidder.
The proceeds of the sale will be paid to the city clerk / treasurer. If the amount of sale is greater than the expenses incurred, the balance will be returned to the former owner.
"I think there will be few of them, now that we have an ordinance in place," Anderson said. He doesn't anticipate they'll be processing many of them soon.
"We'll explore all options before we do anything. Giving the owner notice (of an impending resolution ) will probably solve the problem a lot of times."
The Bella Vista Planning Commission might be involved in determining nuisance properties in the future, Anderson said, depending on how many there are to consider.
The important thing, Anderson said, is that the citizens of Bella Vista be protected from health, safety, and monetary impact of nuisance properties.
"It drags down people's property values," he said.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online