One Community Update
March 26, 2024

Source: wrfalp.com

Jamestown City Council has unanimously passed a vacant property registration ordinance and an update to the city’s public nuisance ordinance.

Jamestown Real Estate Investors Association President Brenda Strasser, speaking at privilege of the floor, said the association has met with the city on the public nuisance ordinance but not the others, “I think we need to involve us. A lot of the landlords in the city own properties and I think we should have a little bit of a say rather than having these things just put at us without any kind of input.”

Council President Tony Dolce said it was time to move forward, “When we hear our constituents, they’ll tell us housing, neighborhoods, vacant properties are at the top of the list or near the top of the list. Also, we should note that this is a direction the state is moving in where many communities we modeled this after.”

Dolce said the ordinances aren’t meant to make this harder on landlords, “The Department of Development and City want not only to work with the landlords but with the tenants and to rectify some of the situations that are out there. This is not, in any way, meant to be more punitive. I guess it looks that way if you see some of the penalties, but again, if something comes up we’re willing to work with those tenants and work with those landlords in order to rectify the situation.”

The vacant property registration ordinance will require the residential property owners to register the vacant property for a fee of $250. Commercial property fees will be $1,000 or 5-cents a square foot, whichever is greater. Fees will increase for both vacant residential and commercial properties each year.

The ordinance also states that a Certificate of Occupancy must be obtained before the property is occupied to ensure the health and safety of individuals in the building.