Owners of vacant Youngstown property must pay yearly fee

By David Skolnick | July 12, 2012 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The city is requiring owners of vacant properties to pay an annual registration fee, though the $100 charge will be waived this year if the owner follows certain provisions.

The city’s rental/vacant property registration office is sending letters Monday to the owners of 2,200 empty structures requiring the registration, said Maureen O’Neil, the neighborhood improvement coordinator.

The city is searching for valid mailing addresses of owners of the estimated 1,800 to 2,300 other vacant properties, O’Neil said.

The $100 fee will be waived during the first year if the owner secures all doors and windows of the property, makes sure there is no trash and debris on the property, maintains the lawn with grass no higher than 6 inches, and has the address clearly visible, she said.

“We’re doing this to stabilize neighborhoods,” O’Neil said. “This is a major step in that process.”

After receiving a registration with a waiver request by the Aug. 10 deadline, O’Neil said the city will send inspectors to that property to make sure the owner is in compliance.

If the property is not secured and maintained, its owner still must pay the $100 registration fee and could face fines for code violations, O’Neil said.

Also, those who own vacant property who won’t receive letters because the city doesn’t have a valid mailing address for them are required to pay the registration fee, she said.

“We’re sending letters as a courtesy,” O’Neil said.

The fine for nonregistration is $50 a day, and those in violation could end up in court, she said.

Vacant-property owners who do not receive letters from the city can contact the rental/vacant property registration office at 330-742-8833. Also, the forms will be on the city’s website — cityofyoungstownoh.org — by Friday, O’Neil said.

The program’s purpose is to help protect the health, safety and welfare of residents by preventing blight, protecting property values and avoiding the creation and maintenance of nuisance properties, according to the letter being mailed by the city to owners of vacant property.

In 2010, the city created a rental-property registration and inspection program, charging landlords $20 a unit for an annual license and a safety inspection. If a property is a multifamily dwelling, the first unit is $20, and each additional unit in the structure is $15.

There are about 4,000 rental units in the city, O’Neil said.