New London adopts new blight ordinance
New London— The city has adopted a new blight ordinance that allows the state to enact criminal penalties to owners of nuisance properties and streamlines a process some officials saywas too cumbersome.
The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance on Tuesday. It was the culmination of work started by the Economic Development Commission and based on a similar and successful ordinance in the City of Groton.
Violations of the ordinance, which also incorporates sections of the city’s property maintenance code, can include everything from overgrown weeds and abandoned motor vehicles to accumulated garbage and deteriorating private sidewalks.
“It’s an issue that comes up again and again — people with vacant properties or old abandoned cars in their yard. Everybody feels kind of helpless,” said Economic Development Commission Chairwoman Elaine Stattler.
While the EDC is an advisory committee, Stattler said they decided to find out best practices from other municipalities.
After speaking with Mayor Marian Galbraith and Groton officials, the EDC collaborated with New London officials and state prosecutors to help tweak the language of Groton’s ordinance to fit New London’s needs.
City attorney Jeffrey Longregan, speaking at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, said while the city already had civil remedies in place, the new ordinance allows the state to levy its own fines and issue criminal infractions to violators.
If after five days an owner has not complied with an order from the city, the city can issue a civil penalty of $100 a day until the problem is fixed. Under the new criminal violation section of the ordinance, the state can fine a violator up to $250 a day.
Londregan said the fines were never meant to be a money generator for the city but rather a tool to encourage compliance. The possibility of a criminal infraction might lead to more urgency on the part of a violator, he said.
“People listen when the state’s attorney is telling them they have to be in front of a judge next Friday,” Londregan said. “People seem to be a little more motivated in bringing a property into compliance in that situation.”
Deborah Donovan, a member of the Economic Development Commission, said the new ordinance also is supposed to speed up the process. The existing civil procedure led to notices, hearings, delays and eventually frustrations, she said.
Under the new ordinance, “people get notice and they act, whereas in the past, feet were dragged,” Donovan said.
Michael Passero, head of the City Council committee that passed the ordinance on to the full council, said it could take months or years under the civil process for anything to be achieved.
“Government looks ineffective,” Passero said. “It turns out the state gives you another tool. We’re not thinking it’s going to solve all our issues but believe we’ll be able to more rapidly address people’s concerns.”
City Councilor Martin Olsen said a critical component in the enforcement of the ordinance is that it is “fair and consistent.”
“We can’t be hodgepodge about how we do this,” Olsen said.
Donovan said the city’s Office of Development and Planning is expected to hire a new enforcement officer with grant money from the Community Development Block Grant program.
The issue of blight in the city used to be handled by NIPIT, the Neighborhood Interdiction Program & Inspection Team, which focused on quality-of-life issues by responding to complaints and inspecting properties for code violations.
The team comprised a police officer, a fire inspector and a city building official. The program was discontinued in 2012 when its funding was cut from the city budget.
The Office of Development and Planning is looking to revive a similar program in the near future.
“What’s really going to make this work is the citizens of New London. If they have an issue, they should file a complaint,” Donovan said. “It’s about quality of life. We all need to try and make our city better.”