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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/16/2023 14.B. Summary of Vacant Building Registry programs y__ _/.1•'' BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 14.B. For Meeting of: May 16, 2023 ITEM TITLE: Summary of Vacant Building Registry programs SUBMITTED BY: Sara Watkins, City Attorney SUMMARY EXPLANATION: City Council requested that staff contact various jurisdictions and ask about the success of their respective vacant building registry programs. Information was gathered from Seattle, Everett, and Bremerton. The attached memo includes a summary of each of the jurisdictions' programs (previously provided) and the responses received regarding program goals, success, and how the programs worked. ITEM BUDGETED: NA STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Neighborhood and Community Building APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type 0 VacantBuilding_Memo 5/9/2023 Corer Memo 2 -OYy (.....„,..---- •:.�• rry r t • + 0 q . ah +'1+1,,`FOR FOR ATV, $ Office of the City Attorney City of Yakima MEMORANDUM May 16, 2023 TO: Honorable Mayor Janice Deccio Yakima City Councilmembers Bob Harrison, City Manager FROM: Sara Watkins, City Attorney SUBJECT: Vacant Building Registry Information from other Cities City Council requested that staff contact various jurisdictions and ask about the success of their respective vacant building registry programs. I contacted Seattle, Everett, and Bremerton. Below I include the summary of each of the jurisdictions' programs (previously provided) and the responses I received regarding program goals, success, and how the programs worked. 1. Seattle a. Program Seattle has a Vacant Building Monitoring Program. The City adds vacant buildings to the Program if an owner does not bring its vacant building into compliance with building code standards after a complaint; the building has multiple complaints; the building is in the development process; or there is a complaint from the fire department or the police department. Seattle does not maintain a registry, or charge owners of vacant buildings to be on a registry. Instead, if a vacant building is added to the Program, the City does monthly inspections and charges the owner a monthly fee. Properties who are in the Program and have no violations for three consecutive monthly inspections are removed from the Program. The City of Seattle has extensive vacant building standards that it enforces through this program. Seattle's ordinance requires that conditions violating the ordinance exist in most cases. So not every vacant building is being inspected and charged for those inspections. The 200 South Third Street,2"d Fl. I Yakima,WA 98901 P:509.575.6030 I F:509.575.6160 3 City Manager Re: Vacant Building Registry May 16, 2023 Page 2 goal of Seattle's program appears to be to bring buildings into compliance with the city's vacant building standards. It includes both residential and commercial buildings. Seattle has a good outfacing website to help owners of vacant properties comply with the city's vacant building standards. https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/codes/common-code-questions/vacant- buildings b. Information from Faith Lumsden, Code Compliance Division Director I was able to contact Faith Lumsden, the Code Compliance Division Director for the City of Seattle. Prior to 2018, the City of Seattle had a small vacant building monitoring program (it started in the late 1980s) that mainly addressed single family homes that were vacant. Those properties were placed on a monitoring program and charged a small fee if the city received a complaint that was not promptly remedied. Seattle was seeing growing problems with trespassers in vacant buildings as well as illegal dumping and blight, so in 2018 the city passed an ordinance that expanded the program and significantly increased the fee. That program was further amended in 2019, requiring any site with a development proposal that is vacant to register. Properties also can be placed into the program on recommendation of the police or fire departments with reports of criminal activity, trespassing, or fires. Owners still have an opportunity to remedy a complaint before the property is put into the program. Once a property has been closed for entry and meets the basic maintenance requirements, it is removed from the monitoring program. The program's goals are to keep properties occupied for as long as possible, keep structures from becoming a blight on the neighborhood, and raise enough money from the fees to fund the administration of the program. The program regularly inspects between 200-250 properties monthly. Most of those properties are closed to entry, but if the inspectors come across properties with trespassers, the city works with the property owner, police and other agencies to get the trespassers out and board up the building. The city may also clear trash and debris if the city is forced to board the building. Last year the city closed 80 buildings and cleared those properties. The program has three inspectors paid from the fees collected, and one that is supported from the general fund, for a total of four inspectors. Seattle's fees for the program for a vacant building depend in part on the condition of the site and building, but are $296.75, $493.80, or $592.30. Faith indicated that the program "has made a small difference" in how long homes stay occupied when they are in the permitting process. She indicated that she thinks that the program does a good job responding to trespassers in vacant buildings. She stated that they were less successful in getting sites cleaned up and maintained when trespassing is not involved due to a lack of staff time they deal with the significant problems first and the sites that are not terrible wait for attention. Most of Seattle's sites get demolished for new housing. The Seattle program is not a typical registry program, but rather is set up to respond to problem sites and neighborhood blight. "We are better off than we would be without the monitoring program." It also is focused on residential structures rather than downtown commercial storefronts. 4 City Manager Re: Vacant Building Registry May 16, 2023 Page 3 2. Bremerton a. Program Bremerton has a vacant commercial building registration program which seeks to ensure that vacant commercial buildings do not become a blight, and are secure and maintained. All vacant commercial buildings in the city are required to be registered unless there is a current valid building permit or the vacant commercial building is the subject of a land use application which was granted but building permits have not yet been issued. Registration requires that the owner or responsible party provide the street address, name and telephone number of a responsible person for the building, and any other information requested by the Building Official for the administration of the program. Registration must be renewed yearly. There is no fee or cost associated with the program, and no requirement that the Building Official do any specific inspections. The Building Official is authorized to conduct inspections to enforce the chapter if necessary. Violations are handled through code enforcement procedures. Bremerton also has an abandoned property registration and maintenance ordinance which addresses all properties which are vacant and either under a current notice of default or trustee's sale; the subject of a tax lien sale; was sold at a foreclosure sale and the bank took over the property; or was transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure. In other words, this deals with properties that are or were subject to a distress sale and are now vacant either awaiting sale or post-sale. There is no fee to put the property on the registry, and there are outlined specific maintenance, securing, and posting requirements for these properties in the ordinance. b. Information from Jeanette Wischhoefer I was able to contact Jeanette Wischhoefer, who works in the Community Development division of the City of Bremerton. Bremerton's program started because there were a number of homes in foreclosure where the homes had been vacated, but the bank was not yet the owner so would not maintain the property. The program required that the bank provide a local property maintenance contact person for the property. The program also only addressed properties that were vacant and in foreclosure. The program added a commercial component which applies similarly to vacant buildings. The buildings are required to provide the city with contact information for a local person or organization that can address maintenance issues if they arise. Jeanette indicated that the commercial properties usually have for sale or rent signs so there is a local person already known to the city. Jeanette said that there were very few commercial properties on the vacant registry. Overall, the goals of Bremerton's program are to keep properties maintained, make sure that the city is aware of the status of the property (in foreclosure) and that the city has contact information for a local company or person to address maintenance issues quickly. She stated that most banks, however, do not provide a local person, but the contact person is instead in 5 City Manager Re: Vacant Building Registry May 16, 2023 Page 4 another state. Although she noted that when the city contacts these representatives they normally hire a local company to do the maintenance. Bremerton offers property owners the ability to register online. Registration is no cost because the city thought that the cost would be an excuse not to register, and the city's goal was primarily to have contact information to get maintenance work done. She stated that it would be nice to also have a way to de-register a property online because right now there is not a way to take a property off of the registry online—people have to call the city to remove a property from the registry. 3. Everett a. Program Everett has a code section regarding maintenance of vacant commercial space in the central business district. It was referenced in the original memo to Council as an example of ordinance language with a fee waiver. Overall, Everett requires that all structures must be maintained pursuant to minimum maintenance requirements. If a commercial space is vacant, it must be registered. Exceptions to registration are: if the space is subject to a current valid building permit and the permitted work is proceeding without significant delay; if the space meets all codes and regulations and the building is for sale or lease with appropriate signage; or if the property is subject to a land use application for redevelopment for which building permits have not yet been issued. If a vacant commercial space remains for over 30 days, the owner is required to take action to make the streetscape look good and avoid adverse impacts on the neighborhood. Actions include, but are not limited to, displaying art, or painting the windows with scenes or art. Everett's fee structure for the registration is $250.00 for the first year, with increasing fees each additional year, topping off at $1,000.00. According to the ordinance, the fees are intended to defray costs of administering the section. This includes inspections and enforcement. Monthly or periodic inspections are not required. The building official is required to provide an annual report to the City Council in January of each year. b. Information from Anne Weech, Administrative Assistant: Permit Services Ms. Weech indicated that the city of Everett has passed no active procedures that can be used to enforce the ordinance or to required the registration of vacant structures, so it is not being enforced. She stated that the city has not had the staffing available to enforce the program. I asked what her estimated staffing level might be to enforce the ordinance. She indicated that she thought that the city would have to hire a minimum of two full time people—one to do the inspections and track compliance, and the second to do the paperwork (notices, correspondence, billing, etc.). 6 City Manager Re: Vacant Building Registry May 16, 2023 Page 5 4. Wenatchee a. Program In Wenatchee, all properties vacant for more than 30 days must register. Additionally, any property that has its utility service cancelled, regardless of how long it has been vacant, must register. Registration must include the name and contact information of someone legally able to act regarding the property. It also must include a 24-hour contact phone number of a local property management company responsible for security and maintenance of the property. Registration is required every 6 months, and there is a fee associated with the registration. There are two sections to the ordinance. One addresses registration of properties that are in foreclosure, and one addresses registration of all other vacant properties. b. Information from Cliff Burdick, Building and Fire Code Official Mr. Burdick indicated that the goal of Wenatchee's program is to register long-term vacant buildings. He noted that they found out early on that the reported vacant properties also contained vacant apartment units and tenant spaces that were advertised as being available for rent. He said due to the amount of staff time it took to ultimately determine a building's status, the staff quit utilizing the vacant property registry portion of the ordinance. Wenatchee still registers properties in foreclosure, which Mr. Burdick indicates has been successful. 5. Olympia a. Program Olympia recently passed a vacant building registration ordinance (OMC 16.06.090) that requires vacant land, vacant residential units, and vacant commercial units register with the City. To register the property must be "vacant and uninhabited" which means that it has been vacant for over 6 continuous months and has not had water or sewer utilities. Alternatively, the property must be registered if it is "vacant and in default" which means that the property is vacant and is in a real property foreclosure, either through a mortgage/real estate contract foreclosure/forfeiture or tax foreclosure. The goals of the program are to ensure that owners follow the property maintenance codes and are aware of them, as well as ensure that the City and interested parties have their contact information. Yearly registration is required and the yearly fee for the vacant property permit is $200.00. As with a number of other cities, Olympia requires that the property be posted with the name and 24-hour contact number of a local property manager. Owners of property on the register is required to conduct or pay someone to conduct a monthly inspection of the property. Results of the inspection must be forwarded to the City for review. Olympia's website for property owners is here: https://www.olympiawa.ciovlservices/vacant properties reciistration.php 7 City Manager Re: Vacant Building Registry May 16, 2023 Page 6 b. Information from Dalton Maurer, Lead Code Enforcement Officer Mr. Maurer stated that the goal of Olympia's vacant property registration is to decrease response time for voluntary abatement of code violations, which is done through yearly registration, requiring a local point of contact, and routine inspections by the City of the registered property. He indicated that the ordinance is relatively new, so there is not data as to success or how many buildings have been returned to use due to the program. 6. Conclusion With this updated memo, I am including the original conclusion presented at the Council's retreat. If the Council is interested in moving forward to evaluate a vacant building registry, City staff seeks direction from the City Council as to the following: ❑ What is the Council's goal for the policy? ❑ Direction as to whether to move forward with a Vacant Building Registry Ordinance which addresses the Council's goals. ❑ Direction as to whether to evaluate alternative or concurrent non-penalty or fee options for downtown property owners which addresses the Council's goals.