Marion policy would provide tool for city to address neglected vacant buildings

MARION — In an effort to prevent blight in neighborhoods, a policy advanced this week by the Marion City Council would add another tool for city staff to improve the conditions of neglected vacant buildings.

The new proposed policy determines the responsibilities of owners of vacant buildings and outlines the city’s ability to identify these properties and ensure there’s a process in place to bring them into compliance with city code. The council approved the ordinance on the first reading Tuesday, and the final consideration is slated for Dec. 21 in time for the policy to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.

“Neglect of vacant buildings creates health and safety risk not only to the vacant property but the adjacent properties as well,” according to council documents. “They often have junk, debris, and are overgrown with tall grass and weeds.

“Vacant buildings discourage economic development and depress the appreciation of property values. There is a substantial cost to the city for monitoring vacant buildings whether they are neglected or secured and maintained. This cost should be borne by the owners and not by the community.”

After the 2020 derecho’s hurricane-force winds damaged buildings across Marion, especially in the Uptown area, city building official Gary Hansen said many properties were dilapidated and needed a lot of repair. As properties in disrepair detracted from the look of Uptown, city staff and the Chamber of Commerce decided to put this policy in place to have a process for getting the buildings in usable condition.

According to a September city Building Services report — the most recent data available — there were 55 active code compliance cases. There were 12 orders to abate nuisances waiting for compliance along with an influx of daily complaints. There were 12 cases involving legal action.

In the past, Hansen said the city has been more reactive and handled properties on a complaint basis. When someone complains about a building that may or may not be vacant, the city sends a code compliance coordinator out to look at the building and determine if it needs to be repaired based on international property maintenance code.

If there is a valid complaint, the official will contact the owner to clean up the property. This complaint process will still be available to make the city aware of vacant buildings. With the ordinance, the owner would have to register the property as a vacant building and give the city a property plan to bring it into proper shape.

“We're hoping this will make us a little more proactive and be able to identify some vacant buildings and help the owners get them back up into a running, occupied building again,” Hansen said. “ … We're hoping that with this new ordinance and policies that people will voluntarily let us know when they're moving out or when their building’s going to be vacant.”

A neglected vacant building is defined as any building or portion of a building which meets certain conditions for more than 90 calendar days in a 12-month period. The property may be:

Under the proposal, property owners must register their property and submit a property plan that includes a timetable regarding use or demolition of the property and for addressing maintenance or nuisance-related items.

The property must be registered within 30 days after it becomes vacant and a property plan must be submitted within 30 days after the building is registered. Registration fees do not apply if a property was damaged in a natural disaster or fire, is actively listed for sale or lease or if the owner leaves for an extended time period such as a vacation.

This also helps the city know who to contact if there’s a break-in or a fire if the owner is away, Hansen said. In the case of a natural disaster, Hansen said the owner would have 90 days to provide a plan to either repair the property and move back in or demolish it. That allows time to work with the insurance company to determine a plan, and city staff have the flexibility to allow more time if the owner encounters delays working with their insurance company.

If a property is a neglected vacant building for 365 consecutive days, the owner must work with the building official to approve an alternative schedule or otherwise the owner must demolish the building and restore the grounds. If the building is not demolished, the city may start legal proceedings to abate the violation under city and state code.

Appeals can be filed in writing and would be handled through the city Nuisance Enforcement and Property Maintenance Advisory Board.

“Our big thing is if people communicate with us, we'll all be better off so we'll be able to help the owners,” Hansen said.

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