City Council members have approved two new neighborhood ordinances, but not before two city landlords asked the city to hold off.

Council members unanimously approved a vacant property registry and a public nuisance ordinance during Monday’s voting session after discussion during both of the council’s March work sessions.

There had been relatively little public opposition to the ordinances. Two landlords asked questions of the council’s Housing Committee earlier this month. The Housing Committee’s second meeting garnered support for the ordinances from those speaking to council members.

Two members of the public stood up to address the council on Monday about the ordinances. Brenda Strausser, president of the Real Estate Investment Association, said with the previous administration the REIA had discussed if they would meet about these issues.

“We did get through the public nuisance but we never got through the other two and I would like the latitude to meet with the Department of Development and the mayor to discuss these before we table them,” Strausser said. “I think a lot of the landlords in the city own property and we should have more of a say instead of having these things put on us without any kind of input.”

Michael Saxton also addressed the council asking them to reconsider the ordinances. His main concerns were the council’s constitutional authority to impose the ordinances, having tenants that do not pay rent and having inspections on vacant properties.

“We have a number of properties where the tenants aren’t paying the rent and the only way we can deal with that issue is to make the properties vacant,” Saxton said. “You guys want to come at us with a tenant that says you’re allowed to hit us for an inspection for a vacant property when we have tenants that aren’t paying rent?”

Saxton asked the council to table the ordinance before voting and to go back and reevaluate. Strausser added that Saxton does not represent the REIA and the REIA is willing to discuss the issue more with the city.

The vacant property ordinance would require property owners to create a Vacant Building Plan explaining how they will comply with city codes and pay a $250 cost to register the building and reimburse the city for monitoring the site. The plan is to include a timeline laying out what work needs to be done to bring the property up to code and a rough estimate for the amount of time necessary for said repairs to be made. Building owners will have to update the city Development Department when any contract to do said work has been finalized and provide a copy to the Department of Development. The owner shall also inform the Department of Development at that point at which any of the required work has been completed. The Department of Development will maintain a separate file for each vacant building and include in the file any property-specific written statements from community organizations, other interested parties or citizens, regarding the history, problems, status or blighting influence of a vacant building.

The vacant property ordinance would include fees for vacant residential and commercial properties that increase each year the building is vacant. The residential vacant property fee starts at $500 and escalates to $2,000 over the course of five years while the commercial fee begins at $1,000 a year and escalates to $5,000 over five years. City officials propose requiring from vacant property owners a description of the property and the names and addresses of all owners. If none of the owners live in Chautauqua County or any adjoining county, or if the property is owned by a corporate entity, the registration will require the name and address of any third party with whom the owner has entered into a contract or agreement for property management. The city will also require a telephone number where a responsible party can be reached at all times during business and nonbusiness hours and a statement whether the building is currently insured by a policy of fire insurance and, if so, the name, address and telephone number of the insurance company and the insurance agent and the amount of the coverage. If the building is not currently covered by fire insurance, the owner will have to explain why the building is not insured.

Jamestown already has a nuisance ordinance on the books, but the new proposed ordinance will deal specifically with properties that result in neighborhood issues because they are used for illegal purposes, haven’t been properly maintained and are the subject of multiple police responses. In multi-unit properties, the finding of a public nuisance would require three arrests within a twenty-four month period in a single unit. Additionally, any conviction for a disorderly conduct violation that involves a property during a 24-month period may be considered along with the three or more arrests in the determination of the existence of a public nuisance under the proposed ordinance. Domestic violence would not be considered a qualifying arrest under the nuisance law. The ordinance also spells out a procedure for the city to close a property that has been the subject of too many nuisance violations, with part of the policy spelling out a nuisance abatement hearing overseen by a hearing officer and the ability for both the property owner, the city and neighbors to provide evidence of illegal activity. The hearing officer will decide whether a public nuisance exists on the premises; if a public nuisance does exist on the premises, whether the public nuisance has been abated; and if the public nuisance has not been abated, what the remedies to abate the public nuisance should be. The hearing officer’s recommendation is not binding.

Besides the vacant property and public nuisance ordinances the council also approved resolutions requesting an increase in state AIM funding, new equipment for the Public Works Department that include a mower, a gator and a skid steer and a shared services agreement with the Busti Volunteer Fire Department. The council also recognized Jamestown students who competed at states in different sports, handing out certificates at the beginning of the session.