ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Director of Community Development with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 5 of the CODE of the City of Peoria, Related to TEMPORARY BOARDING AND SECURING OF PROPERTIES.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Peoria Community Development Department is focused on reducing blight in our community. A major contributing factor is boarded up and vacant property. The current ordinance allows a property to remain boarded for 180 days. Currently, if a property is boarded for longer than 180 days, a citation may be written for every day the property exceeds that time amount. Staff recommends reducing this time down to 90 days
When properties are boarded for a substantial period of time, property values in our neighborhood decline. Boarded properties pose a threat to the health and safety of our neighborhoods and community members as these abandoned properties often become targets for crime and arson. Reducing the amount of time allowed for properties to remain boarded up will send a message to property owners that the city of Peoria intends to hold them accountable to take responsibility for their property resulting in quicker compliance and increased property values.
The Code Enforcement Division currently has five Code Enforcement Inspectors who address housing issues throughout the entire City. Refining and improving a tool to bring quicker compliance to a major aesthetic and safety issue leads to more efficient and effective service delivery for the community.
If adopted, a major focus of the Code Enforcement Division going forward will be proactively addressing the boarded up properties that litter our community. This ordinance change will provide staff with a more efficient tool to hold property owners accountable. Properties that are boarded and left vacant continue to deteriorate past the point where rehabilitation is an option. At that point, the owners of these properties leave ...
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