Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council held the first reading of an ordinance Sept. 25 that will require property owners to meet new standards for property deemed vacant and blighted or face sanctions under the public nuisance ordinance.
The proposed ordinance applies to buildings that are not in use and are in disrepair, unsecured and open to the weather.
The ordinance would affect properties that have been vacant after at least three months unless they have an active building permit. To be affected, the properties also must be in disrepair. The ordinance also would require that boards used to secure a building be painted the same color as the main color of the building. Temporary protection of the property from the weather is permitted for 90 days.
Failure to meet the requirements of the ordinance could result in a fine of up to $500 per day. The city also may abate a blighted structure, with a lien placed on the property.
The council also took public comment on the proposed ordinance.
“I kind of feel like a lot of this ordinance is overly broad,” said Bruce Hobbs, who is a candidate for the City Council in the November election.
He said he understands the concerns that brought the ordinance proposal before the council, but property addressed by the ordinance still belongs to someone.
Hobbs told the council he was concerned about the definitions of building as obsolete and dilapidated or who determines whether the design is defective or the quality of construction.
If the city makes the determination, the property owner may disagree, Hobbs said.
“We have a lot of property in Sweet Home that has been for sale for two, three years,” he said.
The proposed ordinance starts toward regulating aesthetics rather than health and safety, Hobbs said, and of particular interest to him is telling property owners what color to paint boards covering windows and doors.
Ron Freeman, another speaker, said he liked what he saw in the ordinance.
“I like what I read. If you continue to take consideration about what he’s talking about, you’re watering down what you’ve done. Some people need direction to clean things up. I think we need to set rules and abide by them.”
T.R. Price warned that the ordinance wouldn’t solve problems that prompted its creation.
The house on Redwood Street that initiated the process doesn’t look that bad, he said. A house across the street has an “atrocious” color, but he would never go across the street and tell the owner to paint it another color.
“An ordinance isn’t going to fix a thing,” Price said, warning that such properties will become a financial burden on the city, “then we make everybody pay for it. It’s not right. I am against this. It’s just not right.”
Councilor Ron Rodgers said he supports the ordinance “because it’s only targeting houses that are not being maintained and not being lived in.
“We didn’t want to create an ordinance that’s going to effectively put people out of their homes.”
He wants property owners to secure their properties so that people cannot squat in them and so they’re not eyesores, he said. The color requirement is just to make the structures blend in.
The ordinance could be picked apart all night, said Councilor Greg Mahler, but “we need to get something on the books.”
Still, with limited resources, the city will be hard-pressed to enforce it, he said. “We’ve got a couple of places in town that are just totally abandoned, and we need to do something about them.”
Hobbs said he’s concerned about property rights.
“My primary thing is I always worry when a city begins to do things that affect property rights,” he said.
Property owners have given up a lot of those rights already. There is already a process in place to handle complaints about impacts to property values, through the court system.
Trespassing is already against the law, he said. And making something an “attractive nuisance” by leaving it open is already a problem for property owners.
“I’m a very strong proponent for strong personal rights,” said Rogers. At the same time, when someone’s actions or lack of actions infringe on a neighbor’s rights, he gets concerned. A lot of these properties are infringing on the rights of property owners around them. Those properties need to look like something other than abandoned property.
“As a property owner, I feel a responsibility to maintain them for myself and my neighbors,” said Councilor Mike Hall.
Present at the meeting were councilors Marybeth Angulo, Mayor Craig Fentiman, Hall, Mahler and Rodgers. Scott McKee Jr. and Jim Gourley were absent.
The council will hold two more readings of the ordinance before deciding whether to adopt it, on Oct. 9 and 23.