Council poised to enact ‘Spot Blight’ ordinance

Following a work session presentation by Town Planning Director Jeremy Camp Monday night, January 27, the Front Royal Town Council appears ready to take a first step in an effort to force property owners’ hands on deteriorating structures within town limits.

Camp told council the staff proposal of a “Spot Blight Abatement” program is based on codes in place in the City of Leesburg and Loudoun County that have a successful track record; at would will be “the most reasonable fiscal approach”.

It has been staffing and potential legal costs tied to forcing derelict building property owners to do something to correct their “blighted property” situation that in the past has paralyzed a council majority from actually taking that first step toward an enforcement code on basic acceptable physical standards for properties within the town limits.

Over the past two years additional enforcement costs led council to totally abandon a proposed “Rental Inspection” code that would force what some Town officials referred to as “slumlords” to provide minimum acceptable living conditions to Town citizens, particularly those at the lower end of the economic spectrum. Some public speakers urging action on rental inspections pointed out that it is those lower-income citizens who are generally the most vulnerable to living standard abuses by landlords, often absentee property owners living outside the community.

However, a council majority’s unwillingness to consider tax increases to provide the revenue to enact such code protections for its citizens killed that aspect of the Town’s exploration of a “Property Maintenance Code”.

Council ponders the dynamics and cost of forcing property owners’ hands on fixing or razing deteriorating structures in Front Royal. Royal Examiner Photo by Roger Bianchini. Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

But the argument that generally vacant structures left to deteriorate are more than just an eyesore, but also a potential public health hazard, with additional negative impacts on surrounding property values, and consequently on real estate tax revenue coming to the Town, has kept the blighted structure initiative alive.

So if not for its poorer citizens, council has continued to explore ways to enact protections on property values and the tax revenue they produce by targeting blighted properties. According to Planning Director Camp, the “Spot Blight Abatement” plan adopted from the Loudoun-Leesburg code models will initially be cost effective because the costs incurred by the Town in identifying, informing owners of the Town’s Spot-Blight designation of their property, and issuing of a 30-day timeframe through the Town Manager’s Office for a written spot abatement plan to be submitted by the owner, will be covered by placing a lien on the property as necessary.

If the property owner does not comply with the Spot Abatement order, the matter would go before council for a public hearing and vote. That vote would designate the property blighted and a public “nuisance”. The Town would then submit a Spot Abatement Plan for the property leading to its upgrade, “raze or remove the blighted property”.

The staff report notes that State Code authorizes town councils to so designate and legally deal with properties by ordinance adopted by the municipality. Liens placed on blighted properties would have the same legal force as delinquent tax liens.

Wording in the staff summary indicates the Spot Abatement process would be initiated “upon receipt of a complaint”. It was not clear from the limited discussion following Camp’s summary whether the Town could independently initiate the process on obvious offenders.

A council majority appeared to agree with suggested exemptions for “Farm buildings or structures” and buildings in the Town’s Historic District or on National Historic Structure registries. Council agreed to move forward with creation of the Spot Blight Abatement Ordinance. Staff comment indicated a public hearing would likely occur in March.

See the work session presentation in this exclusive Royal Examiner video: