FRANKLIN
Franklin’s City Council plans to discuss a revised version of its proposed “derelict property” ordinance during its Monday meeting, which eliminates provisions authorizing the city to use its personnel and funds to demolish vacant structures if landowners do not follow through with plans to renovate or raze the structures themselves.

According to a memorandum from City Attorney H. Taylor Williams IV to the members of council dated Wednesday, Feb. 7, the revised ordinance would still include language from Virginia Code 15.2-907.1 establishing criteria for a structure to be labeled “derelict” and incentives for owners to renovate or remove them. Those criteria would be any residential or non-residential building or structure that might endanger the public’s health, safety or welfare and, (1) for a continuous period in excess of six months, has been vacant, (2) has been boarded up in accordance with city building codes, and (3) is not lawfully connected to electric service from a utility service provider or to any required water or sewer service from a utility service provider.

As the ordinance is written today, the incentives offered in the event that a property owner chooses to demolish a derelict structure would include an expedited demolition permit application and the refunding of any building and demolition permit fees, provided the demolition is completed within 90 days of the date of the permit’s issuance. The property owner would also qualify for the abatement of real estate taxes in the amount equal to the cost of demolition for the next seven years, which would be transferrable with the property should the owner choose to sell the land.

The incentives offered in the event that a property owner chooses to renovate a derelict structure, provided that no rezoning is required, would include an expedited site plan or subdivision application and building permit. The site plan, subdivision and building permit fees may also be refunded, all or in part, and must not exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the standard fees established for site plan, subdivision or building permit applications, or $5,000 per property.

The property owner would also qualify for the abatement of real estate taxes in the amount equal to the increase in fair market value from the renovations, as compared with the property’s value in its current derelict state, for the next seven years in accordance with Virginia Code 15.2-907.1(8.) The tax abatement would also be transferrable with the property should the owner choose to sell the renovated structure.

All incentives are dependent on the city’s receipt and approval of an owner’s plan to demolish or renovate a structure, and may not supersede any ordinance adopted relative to historic districts.

The incentives also may or may not be available for any property that is either a registered Virginia landmark or is determined by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to contribute to the significance of any registered historic district. Any tax abatements would also depend on the city’s director of community development issuing a certificate of occupancy or a final inspection of the work.

Several downtown property owners spoke out against the ordinance when it was last discussed during a work session in January. At the time, the ordinance included both the incentives to property owners, which Williams referred to in his memo as “the carrot,” and consequences for property owners who were unwilling to raze or renovate their derelict structures, which Williams referred to as “the stick.” Those consequences, which have since been removed from the current draft of the ordinance, included the threat of a misdemeanor charge in the event that property owners were uncooperative with the city’s demands for a plan to address their concerns with a derelict structure, and the imposition of a tax lien on properties were the city to use its own personnel and funds to address their concerns.