Council approves tougher vacant-building registration, inspection fees

The New Castle City Council voted unanimously June 12 to adopt Ordinance 564, a package of changes to the city's vacant-building registration rules designed to encourage reuse and reduce blight. Council member Joseph Day said the measure removes an onerous notarization requirement, raises annual registration fees for properties left empty for multiple years, and creates a process for inspection and placarding of unsafe structures.

The ordinance sets tiered annual charges for long-term vacancies and authorizes the city to charge inspection fees for code officers to perform regular checks. Day said the goal is to make prolonged vacancy more expensive for property owners and to protect public-safety personnel. "It didn't seem to be a deterrent for people to keep making buildings in the city longer than ... there's no real deterrent," Day told the council.

Under the adopted language, owners of properties vacant for three consecutive years must submit an inspection report prepared by a design professional to document structural and interior hazards. The ordinance also authorizes code officials to place reflective placards at properties with documented structural hazards to warn first responders and the public.

Councilors discussed administrative details, including whether fee amounts should be placed in the code's separate fee schedule to allow future adjustments without re-enacting the ordinance. The council adopted the ordinance after a roll-call vote in which all five voting members present (Council President Suzanne Solder; Council members Joseph Day, Andrew Zelt, Nurman Zubaka and Brian Mawick) recorded "yes." The ordinance becomes effective as specified in the city code.

The council and administration said the changes are intended to bring New Castle closer to county practices for vacant-property oversight and to provide clearer tools for neighborhood protection. Enforcement actions or the application of fees would follow the city's established code-violation procedures.