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Special Report: Cracking Down on Vacant Property Owners
Hundreds of empty, boarded-up buildings line Springfield's streets. City leaders are trying to bring down the problem by building up the penalties. While they're making progress, there's more work to do.
Mary Daniels has seen the view from her front porch change in the 45 years she has lived in her east side neighborhood.
"It's just an eyesore," she said. "There's no people going in and out, just people taking aluminum off the houses."
Empty buildings like the one she's describing are scattered throughout the city. They bring down property values and create an opportunity for crime. That's why aldermen toughened the rules to crack down on the owners.
"We're trying to convince people to either fix the dilapidated buildings or demolish them," John Sandowski of the City of Springfield Building and Zoning Department said.
Owners must register any vacant building that violates code with the city. Aldermen raised the fees in late 2011. For buildings under 20,000 square feet, owners must pay $300 for the first three months and $500 every three months after. The owners of empty commercial buildings pay twice as much.
"The first thing we do is issue a notice to register, and wait 10 days for the owner to register the building," Sandowski said. "And if they don't register it by then, we refer it to the legal department."
So far, 500 have been referred to legal, and 601 are now registered with the city. That's about 100 more than a typical year.
One of these registered buildings is a house on South Fourth Street.
"It was a flood situation, where the previous owner was pretty far out of town, the heat was shut off, pipes froze and burst," owner Seth Molen said. "It was a mess."
So Molen bought the building. He is now four months into repairs.
"It's a pretty extensive renovation," he said. "We've fully gutted the building. We had to fireproof between all the units. Re-plumbing, rewiring."
But registration permit fees are eating into his bottom line.
"I can see where that helps people get up and get going on their buildings as far as starting to work on them if they're run down," Molen said. "I didn't run this building down."
The city has collected close to $300,000 since the changes took effect. When owners register a building, they are also required to submit a plan to fix the violations or tear it down.
Daniels hopes to see this progress on her street.
"I would like to see it built back up again and the property taken care of," Daniels said of the vacant house nearby.
Under the updated ordinance, owners can only register a building for three years before they must either fix it or tear it down. To date, the city has demolished 114 homes.
We asked how the city finds and follows up on the empty buildings. Some are discovered while inspectors are driving around town, and others are reported by neighbors.
Click here to find out if a building on your street is registered with the city. (PDF)
Special Report: Cracking Down on Vacant Property Owners
Hundreds of empty, boarded-up buildings line Springfield's streets. City leaders are trying to bring down the problem by building up the penalties. While they're making progress, there's more work to do.
Mary Daniels has seen the view from her front porch change in the 45 years she has lived in her east side neighborhood.
"It's just an eyesore," she said. "There's no people going in and out, just people taking aluminum off the houses."
Empty buildings like the one she's describing are scattered throughout the city. They bring down property values and create an opportunity for crime. That's why aldermen toughened the rules to crack down on the owners.
"We're trying to convince people to either fix the dilapidated buildings or demolish them," John Sandowski of the City of Springfield Building and Zoning Department said.
Owners must register any vacant building that violates code with the city. Aldermen raised the fees in late 2011. For buildings under 20,000 square feet, owners must pay $300 for the first three months and $500 every three months after. The owners of empty commercial buildings pay twice as much.
"The first thing we do is issue a notice to register, and wait 10 days for the owner to register the building," Sandowski said. "And if they don't register it by then, we refer it to the legal department."
So far, 500 have been referred to legal, and 601 are now registered with the city. That's about 100 more than a typical year.
One of these registered buildings is a house on South Fourth Street.
"It was a flood situation, where the previous owner was pretty far out of town, the heat was shut off, pipes froze and burst," owner Seth Molen said. "It was a mess."
So Molen bought the building. He is now four months into repairs.
"It's a pretty extensive renovation," he said. "We've fully gutted the building. We had to fireproof between all the units. Re-plumbing, rewiring."
But registration permit fees are eating into his bottom line.
"I can see where that helps people get up and get going on their buildings as far as starting to work on them if they're run down," Molen said. "I didn't run this building down."
The city has collected close to $300,000 since the changes took effect. When owners register a building, they are also required to submit a plan to fix the violations or tear it down.
Daniels hopes to see this progress on her street.
"I would like to see it built back up again and the property taken care of," Daniels said of the vacant house nearby.
Under the updated ordinance, owners can only register a building for three years before they must either fix it or tear it down. To date, the city has demolished 114 homes.
We asked how the city finds and follows up on the empty buildings. Some are discovered while inspectors are driving around town, and others are reported by neighbors.
Click here to find out if a building on your street is registered with the city. (PDF)
