(A) Any owner of vacant property located within the Village of Schiller Park shall within ten (10) days after the property becomes vacant, or within ten (10) days after assuming ownership of the property, whichever is later, register the real property with the Village of Schiller Park 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 $300 for each vacant property. Subsequent semi-annual registrations of vacant properties and fees in the amount of $300 are due within ten (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 Village of Schiller Park department dedicated to the cost of implementation and enforcement of this subchapter, and fulfilling the purpose and intent of this chapter.
(D) Each individual property on the registry that has been registered for twelve (12) months or more prior to the effective date shall have thirty (30) days to renew the registration and pay the $300 semi-annual registration fee. Properties registered less than twelve (12) months prior to the effective date shall renew the registration every six (6) months from the expiration of the original registration renewal date and shall pay the $300.
(E) If the property is sold or transferred, the new owner is subject to all the terms of this chapter. Within ten (10) days of the transfer, the new owner shall register the vacant property or update the existing registration. 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.
(F) If the vacant property is not registered, or either the registration fee or the semi-annual registration fee is not paid within thirty (30) days of when the registration or semi-annual registration is required pursuant to this section, a late fee shall be equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the semi-annual registration fee shall be charged for every thirty (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.
(G) 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.
(H) Failure of the owner to properly register or to modify the registration to reflect a change of circumstances as required by this subchapter is a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to enforcement by any of the enforcement means available to the Village of Schiller Park.
(I) If any property is in violation of this chapter the Village of Schiller Park 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.
(J) Properties registered as a result of this section are not required to be registered again pursuant to the defaulted mortgage property section.
(Ord. 19-4144, passed 4-18-19)