A committee of two Plymouth City Council members, the building commissioner, assistant police chief, and the Marshall County Landlords Association will work together to find the proper contents to include in a Property Registration Program ordinance that would require the registration of vacant properties or properties that fall into judicial foreclosure proceedings.
Councilman Jeff Houin stated last week that he and Councilman Greg Compton met with members of the Marshall County Landlords Association to talk about a proposed ordinance in May.
The discussion began in April when Building Commissioner Keith Hammonds brought a draft ordinance to the council from Pro Champs. Hammonds said the company would help him in his efforts to identify and follow up on notifications procedures and communicate with property owners concerning vacant properties or foreclosure properties. The property would be listed on a registry with a minimum of $100.
Several landlords were in attendance during the following meeting who asked Hammonds to work on the meat of the ordinance as it notes a 10-day timeframe for being identified as vacant and could be listed in the registry. The landlords often times have empty rentals for about a month, or invest or improve vacant homes that would be empty for some time depending on scheduling.
Houin and Compton later agreed to work with the landlords on the ordinance and Houin said the initial conversation went well.
“It was really good to have that open discussion with the landlords and kind of talk about that proposed ordinance,” stated Houin. “I think the consensus was that because the ordinance was really just a broad draft that was provided by Pro Champs that it maybe didn’t specifically address the concerns we have within the city.”
He said he will be on a committee with Hammonds, Assistant Plymouth Police Chief Mark Owen, and Compton to understand the current challenges and to form an ordinance to better solve current issues, or come up with a better solution to remedy situations. More information will be brought to the council when there is more to report.
