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City to act on vacant structures
YOUNGSTOWN
City council is expected today to adopt a vacant-structure registration program.
Council’s housing, community and economic development committee met Tuesday to discuss the details of the proposal.
A few council members expressed concerns about the annual fee — $100 for each vacant residential house and $250 for each commercial or industrial structure — being too high.
But the five council members at the meeting said they will vote for the registration program today.
“This is a big step,” said Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th and committee chairman. “We’ve talked about it for a long time.”
There are at least 4,000 vacant structures in Youngstown, probably more, said Maureen O’Neil, the city’s housing-code enforcement coordinator.
The proposal would require owners of unoccupied structures — with some exceptions — to pay $100 a year for a vacant house and $250 for commercial or industrial buildings each year. The owner of a vacant structure has 30 days from the time of the vacancy to pay the fee.
Those failing to file would be subject to a $50-a-day fine up to $1,000 and could also be charged criminally with a fine of up to $200 a day with no limit.
Councilwoman Annie Gillam, D-1st, said the $100 annual fee is excessive, adding that many people who own vacant houses had to leave because they couldn’t afford to live there.
Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th, disagreed.
Most who leave the city move elsewhere and have the money to pay the vacant-structure fee, she said.
“If there’s a problem later on, we can revisit it, but I think it’s a fair price,” Tarpley said.
Councilman John R. Swierz, D-7th, said he was concerned about the annual fee as well as the city’s ability to collect that money.
The city plans to hire a collection agency to make sure vacant-property owners are paying the annual fee, O’Neil said.