Lower Burrell drafts vacant building regulations — with fines to come

Fed up with unsightly vacant storefronts and other vacant properties, Lower Burrell Council has unanimously agreed to create a vacant property ordinance.

Council is expected to approve the ordinance in the next month or so.

The ordinance will require owners of vacant properties — residential, industrial and commercial — to register with the city and continue to adhere to city property maintenance codes.

If a property fails to register, it could be subject to fines of $100 a day for as long as the owners are out of compliance.

New Kensington and Tarentum have similar ordinances, according to city Solicitor Steve Yakopec.

Council took action because of complaints and seeing some property windows boarded up.

“There’s a prominent building that has plywood and is not acceptable,” said Councilman Chris Fabry. “Nobody wants that in our city.”

The city needs to work on filling the vacant properties, he added.

Mayor John Andrejcik added, “Boarded-up windows look like heck.”

Fabry acknowledged that while some property owners go through hardships, he has been seeing a long-term trend of vacant property neglect.

Earlier in the month as council and Yakopec drafted the ordinance, Councilman Dave Stoltz urged council to come up with some guidelines so property owners know exactly what to do and by when.

Council still has to draft a resolution on setting the fees for the vacant property registry.

The draft ordinance requires owners of vacant properties to obey maintenance codes and conduct monthly inspections.

The property owners of a residential building must carry $300,000 in property insurance while the owner of a commercial or industrial structure will carry no less than $1 million in insurance.