SOUTH RIVER Borough officials adopted an ordinance amending the borough code regarding property maintenance and vacant properties.
“It has been established in ordinances of other towns that vacant and abandoned structures cause severe harm to the health, safety and general welfare of the community, including diminution of neighboring property values, increased risk of fire and and potential increases in criminal activity. As chairman of the Public Safety Committee I felt like it was imperative that we take action to minimize the number of vacant properties in town,” Councilman John Alai said during the 6-0 vote on Sept. 11.
Vacant property owners are required to file a registration statement for each vacant property with the code enforcement officer. The registration is valid for one year and must be renewed annually as long as the building or lot continues to be vacant. Registration or renewal fees may apply, according to the council agenda.
The first 12 months of the ordinance allows for those with vacant properties to register for no fee. The initial registration fee after the first 12 months is $500 with a yearly fee of $1,000, according to Alai.
“The purpose of the new vacant home ordinance is to create a financial incentive to move a house from being vacant to one that is occupied with people looking to be a part of the overall community of South River,” he said.
Owners of a vacant property are required to enclose and secure the building against unauthorized entry, according to the council agenda.
Furthermore, a sign affixed to the building indicating the name, address and telephone number of the owner’s authorized agent for service and the person responsible for day-to-day supervision and management of the property must be made available.
As of press time, the officials were not aware of the total number of vacant properties there are in the borough; however, the council hopes that with the required registry from the new ordinance, that number will become available by creating a vacant properties database, according to Alai.
According to Councilman Ryan Jones, the current vacant properties ordinance allows the borough to take a bank or a owner of a vacant property to court if he/she does not properly maintain their property.
“The problem is that when you go to court there is a lien that gets put on the property and everything starts all over again,” Jones said.
If a lien is put on a vacant property due to the owner being out of state or if a bank is being neglectful, it creates a burden in terms of ensuring that the property is going to be maintained and is continuously kept up-to-date, according to Jones.
Resident Ed Trygar, who said he owns vacant properties, expressed concerns about the new ordinance due to it requiring him to place a sign with his information on his vacant properties.
“That is the last thing you want to do, if you want to keep your place safe, is put a sign that says this place is vacant and I don’t live around here,” Trygar said.
Resident Bob Woyciechowicz said that due to the new ordinance’s sign requirement, he was concerned that an owner’s identidy could possibly get stolen due to his/her information being public on their property.
Council President Shawn Haussermann said that the idea behind the purpose of the sign is so that if there is an emergency regarding someone’s vacant property, the police will know immediately who to contact due to the sign having the owner’s information list.
For more information, visit www.southrivernj.org/council_agendas.html.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].