bkibler@altoonamirror.com
City Council on Monday introduced a pair of ordinances intended to make it easier for the Department of Codes & Inspections to deal with blight.
One ordinance makes code condemnations applicable to properties, rather than their owners, so they remain in effect when properties are sold; while the other ordinance creates categories for vacant property registrations, so the city can better dedicate the right kind of resources to them, depending on the severity of the problems they cause, according to codes Director Rebecca Brown.
The ordinance that ties code condemnations to properties, rather than ownership, will eliminate the problem of properties that have been red-tagged, or declared unfit for habitation, being sold at tax sale after which the department now needs to restart the condemnation process “at square one,” solicitor Tom Finn said.