Hearing Set on Vacant Property Maintenance
One Community Update
February 15, 2024
Source: The Garden City News
During a hearing set for Thursday, March 7th, the Garden City Board of Trustees will discuss a proposed law aimed at requiring owners to maintain vacant and abandoned properties. As proposed the local law would also establish a registry of vacant or abandoned properties.
Trustee Charles Kelly noted that the March 7 hearing and the proposed new local law were created after reviews and input from the Village’s Legal Committee (consisting of Trustees Kelly and Ed Finneran).
“There were a number of complaints throughout the village about homes that remained vacant for extended periods of time, some with holes in the roof and some without windows. This has only affected about one-tenth of one percent of homes in Garden City, six to seven homes, but it created a significant issue for the people who live on those blocks and we wanted to give our municipal Building Department the necessary tools to address it….Obviously vacant houses with openings invite other danger to the neighborhood. These are the reasons we’re presenting the local law and scheduling the public hearing,” Trustee Kelly explained.
Mayor Mary Carter Flanagan said many members of the Board of Trustees have heard complaints from residents about vacant or abandoned houses nearby their own. “While it may not represent many homes, if those are the ones next door or across the street it is something the village wants to be able to address,” she commented at the meeting last Thursday night.
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