Submitted By
Tammie Grossman, Director of Development Customer Services Department
Reviewed By
LKS
Agenda Item Title
Title
An Ordinance Amending Chapter 7 (“Buildings”), Article 10 (“Vacant Buildings”) of the Oak Park Village Code
End
Overview
Overview
Staff recommends amending the Vacant Buildings Ordinance to clarify the definition of an unsecure building and shorten the time that a building may remain unoccupied from two years to six months before it can be declared vacant. Staff will also make several changes to enforcement practices with the goal of moving more of these properties toward occupancy.
Body
Staff Recommendation
Adopt the Ordinance.
Fiscal Impact
NA.
Background
In November of 2008, the Board adopted the current Vacant Building Ordinance. After seven years of enforcement, the Village has far fewer vacant buildings than it did at the peak of the foreclosure crisis. In part to address concerns about unoccupied buildings in the Arts District, Staff presented a list of vacant and unoccupied properties on Harrison Street and reviewed a comparison of the Village’s Vacant Buildings Ordinance to those of other municipalities at the June 15, 2015 Board meeting. At that time Trustees expressed frustration with the Village’s limited authority to move properties from vacancy to occupancy under the current ordinance.
Over the past several months, Staff have conducted research to determine the best ways to address those concerns. This research has included interviewing staff from other municipalities and attorneys with expertise in this area. It has also included a review of Staff practices in enforcing the ordinance. The current ordinance requires Staff to wait two years while a building is unoccupied before a vacancy determination can be made if the building has no other issues, such as property maintenance violations or criminal activity. Staff recommends reducing that timeline to six months, which would keep the Village in line with other municipal ordinances and within what is allowed by the State. Staff also recommends reducing other timelines in the ordinance in order to maintain the order of escalation toward a vacancy determination.
The current ordinance lacks clarity on the definition of an “unsecure building.” A building can be declared vacant if it is either unsecure or secured by boarding for at least six months. The ordinance includes a clear definition for what it means to be secured by boarding. Staff recommends adding a definition to clarify that an unsecure building is any unoccupied building that is not secured by boarding. This would give Staff the latitude to declare buildings vacant that are unsecured, but may be locked.
Finally, staff are committed to making improvements in the practice of enforcing the ordinance and have devised a three-part plan to do so. First and foremost, staff will be more aggressive in issuing determinations of vacancy. As adopted, the ordinance allows Staff to declare buildings vacant that have more than one property maintenance violation that has not been addressed. Other municipalities have been successful in moving buildings toward occupancy simply by conducting basic exterior inspections of unoccupied buildings. Often these result in more than one property maintenance violation. If not addressed within the identified timeline, these buildings can be declared vacant. Second, Neighborhood and Business Services Division staff are coordinating to identify and declare vacant properties on the Village’s major arterial streets. Third, staff is in the process of configuring the Village’s comprehensive e-governance platform for implementation in 2016. When implemented, CityView will provide robust database tools and automation to support the aggressive approach described above.
Alternatives
Subject to the Village Board’s discussion, staff will prepare any necessary amendments to the Village ordinances. Alternatively, the Village Board could choose to not adopt the ordinance.
Previous Board Action
In November of 2008, the Board adopted the current Vacant Building Ordinance. At the June 15, 2015 meeting, staff presented a list of vacant and unoccupied properties on Harrison Street and reviewed a comparison of the Village’s Vacant Buildings Ordinance to those of other municipalities.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
NA.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
NA.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
NA.
Performance Management (MAP) Alignment
The Development Customer Services Department is committed to maintaining the safety and stability of the community.