(A) Any owner of vacant property located within the city shall within 60 days after the property becomes vacant, register the real property with the city registry.
(B) Initial registration pursuant to this section shall contain at a minimum the name of the owner, the mailing address of the owner, e-mail address, and telephone number of the owner, and if applicable, the name and telephone number of the property manager and said person’s address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
(C) At the time of initial registration each registrant shall pay a non-refundable semi-annual registration fee of $325 for each vacant property. Subsequent non-refundable semi-annual renewal registrations of vacant properties and fees in the amount of $325 are due within 10 days of the expiration of the previous registration. Said fees shall be used to offset the costs of: (1) registration and registration enforcement, (2) code enforcement and mitigation related to vacant properties, and (3) for any related purposes as may be adopted in the policy set forth in this chapter. Said fees shall be deposited to a special account in the city’s department dedicated to the cost of implementation and enforcement of this chapter, and fulfilling the purpose and intent of this chapter.
(D) If the property is sold or transferred, the new owner is subject to all the terms of this chapter. Within 10 days of the transfer, the new owner shall register the vacant property. The previous owner(s) will not be released from the responsibility of paying all previous unpaid fees, fines, and penalties accrued during that owner’s involvement with the vacant property.
(E) If the vacant property is not registered, or either the registration fee or the semi-annual registration fee is not paid within 30 days of when the registration or semi-annual registration is required pursuant to this section, a late fee shall be equivalent to 10% of the semi-annual registration fee shall be charged for every 30-day period, or portion thereof, the property is not registered and shall be due and payable with the registration. This section shall apply to the initial registration and registrations required by subsequent owners of the vacant property.
(F) Properties subject to this section shall remain subject to the semi-annual registration requirement, and the inspection, security, and maintenance standards of this section as long as the property is vacant.
(G) Failure of the owner to properly register or to modify the registration to reflect a change of circumstances as required by this chapter is a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to enforcement by any of the enforcement means available to the city.
(H) If any property is in violation of this chapter the city may take the necessary action to ensure compliance with and place a lien on the property for the cost of the outstanding obligation and any additional cost incurred to the property into compliance.
(I) Properties registered as a result of this section are not required to be registered again pursuant to the foreclosure mortgage property section, § 157.05.
(Ord. 3609, passed 8-5-2021)