Twin Tiers Living 489 Posted November 8 Quote ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The city of Elmira is taking new action in its “fight on blight.” In a unanimous vote Monday, the city council approved a new “fee schedule” for vacant buildings. The change in the city code department does, however, provide exceptions for owners who are: actively deployed in the military, are receiving long-term care at an assisted-living, nursing or healthcare facility, or “depart Elmira for the winter months,” as long the property is secured and has no active code violations.” The new fee schedule lowers the “annual vacant building fee” from $500 to $250 for the first year of vacancy for “residential buildings of one to three units.” A fee for a second year of vacancy was lowered to $500. The previous schedule called for a subsequent annual fee of $500 plus $100 for every following year, with a cap of $1,000 per year... Read the rest here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin 456 Posted November 8 So if I have a rental house and I keep it looking nice, but choose not to rent it out I get fined? That's messed up. My son owns a duplex and has no desire to rent the upstairs apt right now. So now he may be fined. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris 3,211 Posted November 8 34 minutes ago, Kevin said: My son owns a duplex and has no desire to rent the upstairs apt right now. So now he may be fined. Put two lights in different rooms on timers set to different times in the evening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MsKreed 1,571 Posted November 8 59 minutes ago, Twin Tiers Living said: The change in the city code department does, however, provide exceptions for owners who are: actively deployed in the military, are receiving long-term care at an assisted-living, nursing or healthcare facility, or “depart Elmira for the winter months,” as long the property is secured and has no active code violations.” Wait.....so now the City is dictating what absences from your domicile are acceptable? Going south for the winter is specifically exempt. How about spending the summer at a lake house? Will that somehow contribute to "blight"? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KarenK 503 Posted November 8 36 minutes ago, MsKreed said: Wait.....so now the City is dictating what absences from your domicile are acceptable? Going south for the winter is specifically exempt. How about spending the summer at a lake house? Will that somehow contribute to "blight"? It does say the owner must reside in the property for at least 4 months out of the year so probably a work around 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KarenK 503 Posted November 8 1 hour ago, Kevin said: So if I have a rental house and I keep it looking nice, but choose not to rent it out I get fined? That's messed up. My son owns a duplex and has no desire to rent the upstairs apt right now. So now he may be fined. It doesn't say every unit has to be occupied, just that the property has to be occupied. So if it's partially occupied and property is maintained its probably OK. Plus, the way I read that, there always has been a vacant fee schedule. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MsKreed 1,571 Posted November 8 5 hours ago, KarenK said: It does say the owner must reside in the property for at least 4 months out of the year so probably a work around 5 hours ago, KarenK said: It doesn't say every unit has to be occupied, just that the property has to be occupied. So if it's partially occupied and property is maintained its probably OK. Plus, the way I read that, there always has been a vacant fee schedule. Thanks for digging into these details more. It seems like the City is leaving some leeway. Although, I still think, as long as any property is in compliance with taxes and codes, it really isn't part of the "blight" that needs to be addressed the.....and is none of the City's business whether it's occupied or not. There may be any number of reasons why it's unoccupied. Maybe they have high standards and require background or credit checks (that are fully within their legal right). But have difficulty finding tenants who meet the requirements. Or perhaps listing at a price point that's above what the current market is willing to pay for their location. It's their choice to hold out for the amount they want. If they're keeping it clean, maintained and paying taxes, it's overreach for the City to demand justification for it being unoccupied. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris 3,211 Posted November 8 56 minutes ago, MsKreed said: If they're keeping it clean, maintained and paying taxes, it's overreach for the City to demand justification for it being unoccupied. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
