The House has passed my legislation to promote the use of the Conservatorship Act by making the process easier and faster for non-profits and other entities to eliminate blighted properties in their communities. This legislation makes a good law even better. House Bill 1363 decreases the time for court action on a petition from within 120 days of receipt of the petition to 60 days to push these delinquent owners to action in a timely manner. This is also accomplished by requiring an owner to post a bond for the estimated repair costs to prevent a property owner from stalling by promising to fix or repair the subject property knowing full well that he or she does not have the proper funding. We also allow for a petitioner to file for vacant lots on which buildings have been demolished, and to file for one or more adjacent properties in a single action when the parcels are owned by the same owner and the properties were used for a single purpose or interrelated functions. To prevent a property owner from avoiding a conservatorship by simply listing the property for sale, the new bill requires the owner to confirm that the property has been actively marketed, to confirm any sale price reductions, and to provide an affidavit of the people to which the property was shown. Finally, the new bill changes the definition of party in interest (one who can file for Conservatorship) from a resident or business within 500 feet of the blighted building to 2000 feet. In addition, it increases the radius to which the proposed Conservator must have done work from one mile from the subject blighted property to five miles. This allows non-profits, residents and businesses, which are able to undertake this important and expensive project, to file these petitions. In the past they could not have done so because of such narrow geographic restrictions. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:01:06 +0000
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