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Council moves ahead with abatement plan
City Council last week put into effect a plan to help “step up their game” with unsafe and abandoned buildings across Elgin.
Council members unanimously agreed on an ordinance amendment July 16, adopting a Texas local government code to speed up the process of getting building abatement cases in front of local judges. The process now allows city staff to quickly move forward with the removal of dilapidated structures officially defined as “substandard,” opposed to the “unsafe” criteria previously required by city code.
“We got some really bad looking buildings in town, but if all the windows and doors are secured, that can’t qualify as an unsafe structure,” City Manager Tom Mattis said. “It can’t be inhabitable, but you can board it up to where it can’t be defined as unsafe, so that makes a difference here.”
According to the council, the typical process could be very lengthy – responding to city complaints, hiring a marshal to prove a site unsafe, trying to find and notify building owners, getting them before the Building Standards Commission and discussing time frames could keep unsafe structures standing for hundreds of days, if not indefinitely.
The new streamlined procedure will see compliance officers come before the council with a list of structures that don’t meet the city’s building standard code, council members would then vote on getting it before a judge and begin the process of citations.
Municipal judges will carry out the orders with property owners directly, regardless of when the structure was built, inform them to repair or demolish, and set up a citation schedule for what the city can do from there, according to the city manager.
Public notices will still be posted and work to find property owners will be required, but cases should generally get to court in less than 30 days, according to Mattis.
Without a third party committee involved, like the Building Standards Commission, the council will also have more control over unique situations and the ability to safe haven a structure as they see fit, according to the council.
“The bottom line is overall this makes the council more of a player in the whole system,” Mattis added. “This not only will help us expedite this whole process, but it gives the council that kind of stop-gap authority to recognize who may need some special consideration on something like this.”
The ordinance contains penalties not to exceed $2,000 for each offense, except where a different penalty has been established by state law. Each and every day said violation is continued shall constitute a separate offense.
According to the report, the reason most unsafe buildings are resting across the city is because owners can’t afford upkeep and they wouldn’t make enough money from renovation and sales.
“This not only will help us expedite this whole process, but it gives the council that kind of stopgap authority to recognize who may need some special consideration on something like this.”
— Tom Mattis, Elgin city manger
