By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – The Borough Council has introduced an ordinance that will, if adopted, provide municipal officials with the legal authorization they need to take action on abandoned properties in the community.
The ordinance was introduced on May 23 and is scheduled for a public hearing and possible vote for adoption on June 13.
Mayor Greg Westfall said the ordinance “will give the borough some flexibility to move forward on (abandoned) properties and, where appropriate, to place a property on a list of abandoned properties.”
Officials said there are about a dozen properties that could be considered under the terms of the proposed ordinance.
Borough Attorney Greg Cannon previously informed the council that the terms “vacant” and “abandoned” are not interchangeable as they relate to properties. He said Allentown has a vacant property ordinance in place that grants certain rights to municipal officials in specific instances.
Cannon said the adoption of an abandoned property ordinance would permit officials to create a list of abandoned properties and to subsequently pursue a tax sale on a property or to declare it a blighted area.
Enacting the ordinance would give officials power to take action on an abandoned property, such as using eminent domain (condemnation) to take the property from its owner and/or rehabilitating the property, the attorney said.
Cannon said the owner of an abandoned property must be served with a notice by the municipality regarding any action that is being contemplated on his property.
On the issue of vacant and/or abandoned homes, code enforcement officer Joe McGrath said that in the larger picture, “banks are beginning to buy foreclosed properties and they are starting to rent them out. That way, people (tenants) can take care of them. That is encouraging.”
McGrath said a formal complaint form and procedure has been instituted so that residents who want to file a complaint against a property owner in regard to possible violations can be assured there will be a record of their complaint on file with the borough. McGrath said the name of an individual who files a complaint about a property will not be given out.
Several residents thanked McGrath for visiting properties about which complaints have been made and for following up with the owners of those parcels to get the property and/or structure cleaned up or repaired as required.
In other action at the May 23 meeting, the council accepted the resignation of Carla Lebentritt from the Historic Preservation Review Commission. The council accepted the resignation of Kris Smith from the Economic Development Committee and appointed Maria DeMarco to the position.