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...
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