Springfield City Council passed a chronic nuisance ordinance back in 2016 to help gain control of poorly maintained property around the city. In 2023, however, they are still having the same conversation.
For the first 45 minutes of Tuesday night's meeting, the council discussed how this chronic nuisance ordinance needs implementations considering the city still is struggling with property maintenance.
The biggest concern was that there is no enforcement to the ordinances.
“That’s definitely troubling that we're in 2023 and we still have hundreds of houses and lots," said Ward 2 alderman Shawn Gregory.
The ordinance passed back in 2016 stated that property owners are subject to a $1,000 fine within 30 days of final determination if it's put on the chronic nuisance list.
The council revisited this issue in 2020 with discussion about harsher penalties that would consider doubling the fine amount based on how many property owners receive.
“We have some developers, some owners that will not cut the grass until the city sites them, and then they go to the administrative court and show they cut the grass and it gets wiped out," said Ward 10 alderman Ralph Hanauer.
Hanauer thinks the ordinance should only allow owners to clear one citation, and that the future fees they receive should not be cleared by the administrative court.
Another big problem the city is facing is a lack of communication.
“This ordinance doesn’t talk a lot about communication with the owner or property owner," said Ward 3 alderman Roy Williams Jr. "The people I'm dealing with are not the property owner, they’re tenants.”
Ward 4 alderman Larry Rockford echoed this sentiment and said when he turns in a complaint about problem properties, there is no communication afterward on what is being done.
“How do I know if anything is being done? Because the grass is still tall, the garbage is still there, so I don’t know if anyone has been out there," Rockford said.
Mayor Misty Buscher said that adding zoning managers might be helpful since there would be a person to communicate with.
Ward 1 alderman Chuck Redpath reiterated that the citations should stay on record for two to three years, instead of just one, so owners are held more accountable.
“The problem with this whole ordinance and all the ordinances that we passed is there’s no enforcement. They get to that certain point, and like you said, when the year turns over then they start over again, that shouldn’t be," Redpath said.
Ward 9 alderman Jim Donelan said the council should get a summary of how many properties have been put on the chronic nuisance list since 2016 to see what was or was not done to those properties before they make proper changes to the ordinance.