Weldon is taking steps to have an ordinance addressing boarded windows on vacant houses and businesses.
Code Enforcement Officer Richard Brown tonight presented town commissioners with a draft ordinance which addresses the matter. He said he wants the board and the town attorney to review it before a public hearing is set.
While most cities and towns address the matter through minimum housing codes, Brown told the board the only other city he has found through research which has a separate ordinance on boarding windows is Charlotte. “It’s really getting to be a problem.”
Mayor Julia Meacham said, “As we are trying to clean up Weldon’s image, it (boarded windows) is a deterrent and depreciates values.”
While Brown said there are times windows must be boarded, “We’re trying to set controls and time limits.”
Commissioner Earl Smith said he agreed with the proposal. “Boarded up windows are a detriment.”
Brown said the ordinance gives the town a tool for contacting property owners.
The proposed ordinance explains state statutes give towns and cities the authority to enact such a measure. “ ... There is convincing evidence that boarded up structures within the town and ETJ limits are a threat to the public health and safety, causing, among other adverse secondary effects, attraction to vagrants, children, vermin and increased crime,” the proposal states.
The proposal requires no owner shall board up a structure without registering it no more than 48 hours after boarding it up. The application includes the name, address and correct phone number of the applicant, the owner’s plan for occupancy, repair or demolition and a plan for regular maintenance during the period the property is boarded up.
The registration will expire in six months. Anyone who has boarded property before the effective date must comply within six months.
The owner will have 10 days after notice is received to correct violations noted by code enforcement. Failure to correct the violations means a $500 civil penalty for the first day of noncompliance and $50 for each day after until the owner complies.
