They assert that new rules could help stop the spread of blight and prevent properties from deteriorating further.
The goal is “to get these stagnant properties moving again in the right direction,” said Matt Tepper, a trustee with Preservation Dayton Inc., which has helped spearhead this proposal. “This is one of many tools that the city needs.”
Dayton officials, however, said they worry a new vacant property ordinance might burden responsible property owners while having a minimal impact on neighborhoods.
“We would also need to conduct our own research, complete a law review, evaluate cost effectiveness, determine personnel needs to administer such a program, as well as vet the concept with our neighborhood leaders,” said Todd Kinskey, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development.
Vacant structure fires
Dayton’s challenges with vacant properties received renewed attention last month following two major fires that badly damaged a couple of properties in West Dayton.
On March 8, authorities found five dead bodies after a vacant home caught fire on the 500 block of North Broadway Street in West Dayton.
On March 26, a fire badly damaged the empty Wright company airplane factory buildings in West Dayton, which are located along West Third Street, not far from the fatal house fire site.
Dayton’s Fire Investigations Unit investigated 269 structure fires last year, and 94 involved vacant structures, according to data from the Dayton Fire Department.
The number of fire investigations increased by about 21% from 2021, but investigations involving vacant structure fires shot up 54%.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The tallies do not include minor fires that not involve injury, death or a significant amount of monetary damage, fire officials said.
And fires aren’t the only problem with vacant and abandoned properties.
Proposed changes
Vacant properties can attract squatters, prostitution, drug use and sales and other criminal activities. They can drag down surrounding property values and discourage investment.
Some community members and members of Preservation Dayton Inc. are asking the city to consider requiring owners to register vacant properties and provide contact information so city staff know who to reach out to when there are code violations and other issues.
Dayton already has a vacant property registry, but it is only for bank-owned properties and properties in active foreclosure.
Cities like Youngstown have regulations that apply to all vacant properties. Springfield requires owners of residential structures that have been vacant for 90 days or longer to register the properties.
Supporters said Dayton should consider charging vacant properties fees or possibly requiring bonds to help shift the cost of maintaining the properties to the owners.
The city also could place liens on properties that have code violations or that fail to meet registration and fee requirements, advocates said.
The liens could be forgiven when code violations are fixed.
Vacant, neglected properties cost taxpayers since the city must mow the yards, board up the buildings and police and fire personnel respond when public safety issues arise at the properties, according to some community members.
Charging vacant properties fees could help pay for staff to administer the program and enforce new regulations, said Stanley Hirtle, a retired legal aid attorney who is advocating for new rules.
Fees could escalate over time, which would discourage owners from sitting on vacant properties for prolonged periods, he said.
Supporters said they spent months researching best practices in other Ohio communities to come up with recommendations.
How it could work
In Youngstown, vacant properties must be registered every year, and failing to register carries a fine of $50 per day, up to $1,000.
Owners have to pay annual fees of $100 for vacant residential structures and $250 for commercial and industrial structures.
Springfield requires owners of vacant properties to pay an annual $100 registration fee for every property in their possession. Properties also must be secured and owners must submit up-to-date inspection reports that spell out issues with the properties.
Dayton would benefit from having civil remedies to address vacant properties, since existing criminal penalties for failing to maintain properties are low-level misdemeanors with minor and mostly inconsequential fines, Hirtle said.
He also said a new ordinance could require owners to submit reuse plans for their vacant properties.
Like all local ordinances, vacant property regulations are only as effective as their level of enforcement, said Alison Goebel, executive director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center.
Some cities have minimal staff to enforce their ordinances, so they have limited impact, she said, but other communities have prioritized neighborhood stabilization. According to Safeguard Properties, more than 100 Ohio communities have vacant property registries or ordinances, but many only cover properties in foreclosure.
“Enforcing the vacant property registry’s registration requirements and pursuing property owners that don’t register is one of several tools that they use to motivate absentee landlords into fixing up their properties, finding tenants, and/or selling the property,” she said.
Kinskey, with the city, said a vacant property program could have benefits but its effectiveness is unclear since many absentee owners aren’t complying with existing requirements, like paying their taxes, maintaining their properties or responding to city notices.
He said the city will be in a better position to evaluate this concept after it finishes a citywide housing survey that should provide a better picture of how many properties are vacant.
Tepper, with Preservation Dayton, said the amount of blight and vacancies in the city probably can seem overwhelming to the city’s short-staffed housing division, but this proposed program could help and should pay for itself.
New regulations certainly need to be written in a way to prevent property owners from being penalized if they are maintaining and fixing their properties and they do not have code violations, Tepper said.
“In the long-term, I think this will mean fewer vacant properties,” he said.
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