The College Park City Council on Sept. 2 voted to require the owners of vacant homes and commercial property to register their empty buildings with the city.
Once the ordinance takes effect, owners will pay $25 to register any property that has been vacant for 30 days. Those who fail to comply will be fined an initial $500 and another $1,000 for each additional 30 days the property remains unregistered.
“Vacant properties can negatively impact our community,” College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir wrote in his blog, Kabir Cares. “When left unmonitored, they can become safety hazards, attract vandalism and contribute to blight. A registry will allow the city to track these properties, maintain up-to-date contact information for owners and ensure compliance with maintenance standards.”
City Councilmember Jacob Hernandez (District 1) agreed.
“It supports improving public safety,” Hernandez told College Park Here & Now. “It protects property values.”
Miriam Bader, the city’s director of planning and community development, said the registry will inform the city of how many vacant properties exist and who their owners are.
“And, you know, God forbid, there’s some kind of problem, like a tree or a natural disaster, flooding or fire, that we can actually reach out to the person and say, Hey, listen, this is what’s happening to your property,” Bader said.
Bader said the ordinance does not create a tax on vacant buildings.
But a property owner who spoke at a Sept. 2 public hearing said he suspects the ordinance eventually will lead to one.
“I feel that this registry has no purpose except to pave the way for a tax on vacant or underutilized property in the eyes of the city,” said Richard Biffle, who owns property in College Park but lives elsewhere.
Bader said the vacant storefronts reflect poorly on the city and waste space.
“We want things to look active and not look like we’re run down or we’re not the place to be,” she said.
Hernandez said North College Park has the highest number of vacant storefronts of any community in the city, especially near the ramp to the Beltway, the west and east sides of Rhode Island Avenue, and the northwest corner of Rhode Island Avenue and Edgewood Road.
Economic Development Director Michael Williams said the commercial vacancies often occur because of disputes between landlords and the business owners who rent the space.
“So many times the applicant in the business would have been several months behind on rent payments and lease payments,” Williams said. “That’s what leads to the landlords saying, ‘OK, we’ve got to move on here.’ And that happens a lot of times all of a sudden. You’re like, ‘Wait a minute, I ordered a sandwich from here yesterday, and you guys are now out of business.’”
Bader pointed to Target, which left its location at the Landmark Apartments on Route 1 almost overnight. The property remained vacant for a year and a half.
Examples of properties that are exempt from registering include those that are listed for sale, under construction, vacant for the summer because student tenants are away, multifamily units that are partially filled and those in foreclosure.