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House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	June 22, 2015 01:10 PM
From:	Representative Neal P. Goodman
To:	All House members
Subject:	Blight Legislation – 12 Months to Correct Known Code Violations

In the near future I will introduce legislation to further combat blight in our communities. Under the Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act (Act 99 of 2000), a purchaser of a building with known code violations has 18 months (or longer by agreement with the municipality) to correct the violations or demolish the building. If the purchaser fails to do so within the required timeframe, the municipality may assess fines between $1000 and $10,000. My legislation would simply reduce the time to correct the violations to 12 months. Twelve months is a reasonable amount of time for purchasers to correct known code violations. There is no reason neighbors of the blighted property should have to put up with nuisances longer than necessary. And the legislation would retain the ability of purchasers and municipalities to negotiate longer timeframes when needed. This is a commonsense piece of legislation that will go a long way toward helping municipalities rid their neighborhoods of blighted and dangerous properties in a faster timeframe.

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