LORDSTOWN Resident pushes plan for exteriors of buildings

A proposed exterior maintenance code died in the planning commission two years ago.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LORDSTOWN -- A local resident urged village council to revive the idea of adopting an exterior building maintenance ordinance here.
"There are some abandoned barns, deteriorating buildings and properties that have junk cars around, and I feel that an exterior maintenance code is necessary," Michelle Wells, of Highland Avenue, who has lived in the village almost four years, told council Monday.
Wells brought to the meeting a copy of an exterior maintenance ordinance that was discussed two years ago by the village planning commission, but died in that commission.
Commission members thought council wouldn't adopt it because there weren't many problem buildings in the village, explained Ron Barnhart, village planning and zoning administrator.
About the ordinance: That unsuccessful ordinance would have required, upon a written complaint, painting of houses, chimney repair and replacement of missing shingles and broken windows and doors, he said.
Village police already enforce an ordinance against junk cars, and the zoning code has a provision against having junk and debris in one's yard, he said.
Council members did not comment on Wells' proposal during the meeting, but after the meeting, Councilwoman Karen Jones, a former planning commission member, said any such code should be phased in gradually to give property owners reasonable time to comply.
Comments: "Do we need to do something? Probably," she said. She added, however, "There's always the situation about who polices it and who does all the inspections to see that all of this is done."
City officials once reviewed a sample ordinance from another community that would have set interior and exterior maintenance standards, she noted. "We just don't have inspectors to do that kind of thing.
"We have done a lot of clean up of old, abandoned structures. We've had them condemned and we've had them used for fire practice. So we have done a lot in just the last few years," she said.