Committee discusses derelict vacant properties

An ad hoc committee appointed by Havre Mayor Tim Solomon started its look Monday at what action the city should take to address the issue of derelict vacant properties.

At the start of the meeting, committee member Caleb Hutchins, also a member of Havre City Council, said the problem of vacant properties left in disrepair is still at a stage where it can be managed and addressed.

"We're a relatively small community. We obviously have a lot of interest in dealing with the subject and we can start to address it," he said. "If we wait another 10 years, five years, then we get into the issue where we start looking like Butte where there are whole city blocks that are disused and falling apart."

About 20 members of the public attended the committee's first meeting, held in the Havre-Hill County Library.

Each member agreed to call the mayors, city councils, city newspapers and others in different cities that have ordinances similar problems to find out how effective such action has been. The committee will then meet again in about two weeks. No date was set.

Samantha Clawson, a member of the committee and Hutchins' wife, asked City Council's Ordinance Committee in May to take action on the issue. She specifically asked the city to look at creating a vacant property registration ordinance or VPRO.

After it was brought up again in June at a meeting of the full council, Solomon, at the council's direction, appointed the committee to research what other municipalities have done to tackle the issues of blighted vacant properties and derelict property owners.

A VPRO would require that owners of vacant properties register with the city. A registry of owners and vacant foreclosed properties would be maintained and likely posted on a website. Depending on how it is structured, property owners may have to submit a plan about how they intend to rehabilitate, sell or demolish the property and or pay a fine.

Clawson during Monday's committee meeting said that she wants property owners to be held accountable for the conditions of their property. She said vacant properties that are not maintained present a safety hazard, especially to young children, can increase crime and negatively drive down the values of nearby properties.

She added that she hopes the city can come up with "an actionable working plan to address the issue."

Solomon told the committee he hopes it can go beyond the issue of vacant properties and confront the issue of blighted properties. He said many properties that are occupied are in just as bad if not worse shape than those that are vacant.

Hutchins said he thinks the committee is looking at all options which could include a VPRO, a blight ordinance that would allow the city to penalize property owners who do not maintain their property to meet certain standards, or a combination of the two.

Committee member Marc Whitaker said he thinks the committee should focus its attention on blighted vacant properties because that seems to be the issue.

Committee member Jim Bennett said he would like to encourage owners of vacant blighted properties to fix them up and sell them to willing buyers. Bennett, who is executive director of the Montana State University-Northern Alumni Foundation, said Northern and other employers in Havre often struggle to find accessible, affordable and well-maintained housing for potential employees and other businesses face similar challenges.

Audience member Rick Magnussen asked what the city can do now about vacant properties.

Clawson said that as long as windows are boarded up and weeds mowed on the property, the city can do nothing under current ordinance.

Clawson said one thing she likes about a VPRO is, depending on how it is written, a vacant property owner who registers their property can show documentation their property is either on the renters market, up for sale, or that they have a plan to rehabilitate the property within a certain time frame. If they submit any of that documentation they can be exempt from having to pay a fee for the registration.

Hutchins said the city could possibly make sure property owners pay the fine by doing what the city does with people who do not mow their lawns. The city will send the Department of Public Works to cut the grass of property owners who do not do so, but later charge the property owners by adding the fee to their property tax bill.

Solomon said he was not sure if an ordinance could be put in place to do that.

Solomon said that, under state law, as long as a building is boarded up and nobody can get into it, state law limits what the city can do.

If a window is not boarded up, a property owner can be charged under a public nuisance ordinance. That matter then  goes before the judge, who usually gives them a time frame within which to address the  violation and if they do that, the charges can be dropped, Solomon he said.

Solomon added that the situation is frustrating for the city.  

Magnussen asked if the state can do anything when it comes to cracking down on the derelict property owners.

Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, who sits on the committee, said Montana "is pretty libertarian when it comes to property, and whatever action the committee, and ultimately, the city takes will need to be coordinated with the state."

"I want to see a VPRO done," Bachmeier said. "I want to see safe housing in Havre, but there are so many different variables that we are going to have to be careful here."

Clawson said addressing the problem will go beyond merely writing an ordinance and will need to be a coordinated effort between different parts of the community including real estate and banks to ensure there is a plan to get vacant buildings back into use.

The committee agreed that its first step will be to reach out to other cities with vacant property ordinances and learn more about the affect  they have had.