(A) The fee for registering a vacant structure shall be set by resolution of the City Council, and may be adjusted from time to time. Registration fees collected on or after July 1 shall be prorated to one-half the yearly registration fee, but for calculating subsequent yearly fees shall be considered the full fee as set forth by resolution.
(B) The following are exempt from the provisions of this section: residential rental buildings consisting of partially occupied rentals and partially vacant portions of buildings may be allowed to register the vacant units by paying the fee associated with additional rental units. Inspections for vacant portions of said units shall be inspected as required by this code section.
(C) The fee for renewing the vacant building registration shall be consistent for the first two years a structure remains vacant and shall run with the property and not ownership. Any change of ownership shall not be considered newly vacant, but shall continue to accrue vacancy time for the purposes of calculating registration fees.
(D) Upon the third year of vacancy, the registration fee will double from the original full-year registration fee and not the prorated fee. Upon the fourth year of registration, the registration fee will double from the third-year registration fee and all subsequent fees will remain consistent with the fourth-year fee.
(E) If the property is transferred to new ownership and remains vacant, the new owner shall file an amended registration form within 30 days of transfer of ownership. If the building is already registered as vacant the new owner shall not be required to submit the registration fee for the year already paid. The new owner shall submit the previous owner’s inspection log as required in the inspections section of this code. If an inspection log is not obtained from the previous owner, the owner shall schedule an inspection with the Building Official within 30 days of registration.
(F) Properties registered with the city as a vacant building may be transferred to the Rental Inspection Program (Title 3, Chapter 5, of this code of ordinances) without having to pay the fee for the Rental Inspection Program for the same year already paid as a vacant property.
(G) Properties registered with the city as rental property (Title 3, Chapter 5, of this code of ordinances) may be transferred to the Vacant Building Registration Program without having to pay the fee for the Vacant Building Registration Program for the same year already paid as a rental property.
(H) Payment of the applicable registration fee does not relieve or exempt the owner or other persons from paying any and all fines, penalties, costs or other such charges assessed for non-compliance with the property maintenance standards of this section or other code provisions in this section or elsewhere in the city ordinances.
(I) Payment of any and all fines, penalties, costs or other such charges assessed for non-compliance with the property maintenance standards of this section or other code provisions in this section or elsewhere in city ordinances does not relieve or exempt the owner from paying applicable registration fees of this section.
(Ord. D-87, passed 5-3-2022)