AGENDA DATE: 4/6/2016
TITLE: Title
Options to Address Blight and Building Maintenance
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Options to address unsafe and unsightly buildings
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Walker, Davis, Herrick, Graham, McCulley, Cilimberg, Benish, Schlothauer
PRESENTER (S): Jay Schlothauer, Mark Graham
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: At its September 25, 2015 retreat, the Board expressed concern over aging infrastructure and blight in the County. This work session is to review two additional options to address this issue:
1) Spot blight abatement; and
2) An expanded building maintenance program.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Goal 7. Operational Capacity. Ensure County government's ability to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities
DISCUSSION: Staff has identified two additional options for addressing unmaintained buildings and structures: spot blight abatement and an expanded building maintenance program. These options, along with a brief description of existing tools, are discussed in Attachment A. The first option, spot blight abatement, is already enabled in Virginia Code ? 36-49.1:1, and would not require additional ordinance(s) for initial implementation. In order for the County to abate spot blight, a property must first be determined to be "blighted," which requires significant deterioration.
The second option would be the local adoption of the existing Virginia Maintenance Code (VMC). The VMC's maintenance standards and administrative procedures are already part of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. The VMC includes a broad range of property maintenance elements. Compared with spot blight abatement, the VMC sets a much lower threshold for County action. For example, the VMC could be used to address maintenance issues such as peeling, flaking and chipped paint (VMC ? 304.2).
Staff has not yet generated a full inven...
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