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City decides against new policy for vacant homes
(by Sue Reid - March 24, 2010)
City decides against new policy for vacant homes
By SUE REID
A motion to move a policy regarding the restoration or repair of unoccupied or foreclosed homes to its inactive agenda was approved last week by Solon City Council's finance committee.
The committee had been reviewing the policy and potential alternatives with regard to the issue. It concluded that the city should get involved financially only as an absolute last resort with a home that poses a health and safety hazard to the surrounding neighborhood.
Input was requested, because city ordinances, in some circumstances, do not adequately address certain neighborhood health and safety concerns, officials said. In particular, health and safety issues relating to the internal condition of unoccupied or foreclosed homes.
Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said the city already has a policy in place. "We have a zoning ordinance in place that would allow us to make internal inspections of abandoned homes that are causing a health and safety threat," he said. "The issue is it does not say how much work we would do."
Mr. Frankland proposed in the policy to define the amount of work the city would do. That came about due to a house on Ledge Hill Drive, which was abandoned for about three years but has since been sold.
He provided a memo to the committee which suggests some additions to the policy, basically stating that, as a last resort, when there is a threat to the neighborhood as determined by the city's chief building official, that the city will do the least amount necessary in the most cost effective way, to remove the safety hazard.
"The city shouldn't and doesn't need to be in the business of restoring houses to a livable condition," Mr. Frankland said. "The market will do that for itself like it did with the home on Ledge Hill, but we do have an obligation to address health and safety threats." He said he believes the city has a moral obligation with regard to that. "Our law department will say we don't have a legal obligation to do so," he said.
"I think you've essentially captured the sense of the committee with this policy," Councilman Lon D. Stolarsky said to Mr. Frankland. "It shows that all of what we need in a policy is already there. We just have to use it effectively."
"This is a very well-done policy," Councilman William D. Mooney said. But there still is a question, he said. "Do we need it at all?
"The policy is in the ordinance right now," Mr. Mooney said.
Mr. Stolarsky said the Ledge Hill Drive home sold for a high-enough price to show that Solon homes still have value.
Councilman William I. Russo said that the home on Ledge Hill Drive came before the committee because the judge would not clear the case off his docket and therefore the property sat in limbo.
"We should not set up any new rules or regulations in the city just because we have another branch of government not doing their job," Mr. Russo said. "I don't want to enact something that is not needed," he said. If the issue of abandoned homes becomes more and more commonplace in the city, then will take a look at it, he said.
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