(A) Registration process.
(1) Step 1: The building gets registered on ____(date) and non-refundable registration fee is paid.
(2) Step 2: From ____(date) to the first day of the second full quarter after ____(date), the owner pays no vacant fees and hopefully gets the building un-vacant (this ensures that no matter what date the applicant registers, everyone gets a full quarter to get un-vacant).
(3) Step 3: On first day of second full quarter after ____(date), the city begins billing the owner a vacant property fee. The bill is quarterly. The owner is responsible for alerting city to the property becoming un-vacant.
(4) Step 4: If the building becomes un-vacant between ____(date) and start of second full quarter after ____(date), then no vacant fee is charged and the registration fee is not refunded.
(a) Example:
1. Quarters begin on: January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.
2. Building gets registered on March 31, 2022.
3. Owner pays registration fee within 30 days of March 31, 2022.
4. March 31, 2022, is still in first quarter.
Thus, the vacant building fees do not begin to be added up until July 1. The quarter from April 1 to June 30 is the “grace quarter”.
(b) If the owner becomes un-vacant in the midst of a quarter, the quarterly fee shall be prorated for that quarter and be paid before removal from registry; removal from registry shall also include a valid certificate of occupancy as proof the structure is not vacant.
(c) In the event the owner becomes re-vacant, the same process begins again.
(B) Registration fee. The following registration fees shall be subject to change based on the decision of the Municipal Court:
(1) For expenses in operating this program: $250 per property/structure; and
(2) If voluntarily registered by owner: $125 per property/structure. The $250 fee shall remain for any buildings that the city must register.
(C) Vacancy fee structure. The following vacancy fees shall be subject to change based on the decision of the Municipal Court:
Year | Commercial/Industrial Fee | Residential Fee |
6 or longer | $7,000 per quarter | $4,000 per quarter
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(Ord. 2022-06, passed 3-7-2022)