JACKSON – Township officials and residents would like to see property owners keep up their homes.
With that idea in mind, Council members recently voted unanimously to approve an ordinance concerning an initial registration fee and a renewal fee for vacant properties in the township.
The ordinance was introduced during a June 23 council meeting, the first to bring together Council President Alexander Sauickie, Vice President Andrew Kern, Councilman Ken Bressi, Councilman Martin Flemming and recently appointed Councilman Stephen Chisholm before a live audience in Town Hall; the ordinance was fleshed out and adopted.
This ordinance establishes an initial registration fee of $500 for a vacant property and a $1,000 renewal fee for a vacant property. The original fee had been $250 but some felt this figure fell short of the incentive needed to get owners to maintain those properties.
The idea behind the ordinance is to improve the look of neighborhoods that have vacant properties in them and to tighten up restrictions with a higher fee to prevent residences from having a rundown appearance.
Money collected from the fees will be used by the governing body to maintain the upkeep of properties should property owners refuse to take proper action themselves. This would also prevent having to use taxpayer money for such improvements.
A number of resolutions were approved during the session. They included the adoption of housing rehabilitation guidelines for the township’s rehabilitation program for local affordable housing purposes.
Also approved was a resolution authorizing an amendment to the township’s agreement with Rehaboco, Inc. as Jackson’s administrator of its’ housing rehabilitation program and authorizing the utilization of $60,000 from the township’s affordable housing trust fund to allow for an additional 20 rehabilitation units at $3,000 per unit.
