HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Havre City Council’s Ordinance Committee convened on Monday evening to discuss their options when it comes to abandoned buildings in town.
Now that Havre has a charter form of government, the Council has more flexibility with ordinances regarding abandoned structures, but they still have to go through a public comment process.
Alderman Andrew Brekke brought copies of the City of Billings’ ordinance related to abandoned structures, saying he thinks it could possibly work in Havre.
The ordinance gives the Code Enforcement Officer, which in Havre’s case would be Public Works, the authority to issue $500 civil penalties to the owners of buildings that have been abandoned for at least several months.
Brekke says his main concern is “health and sanitation,” adding that he does not want the city to be liable if people were to suffer serious injuries in abandoned buildings.
He added that enforcement would be discretionary, and this policy would provide more flexibility than the Vacant Property Registration Ordinance that was proposed several years ago.
Alderman Karen Swenson said that this ordinance would be “more manageable and less complicated,” than the VPRO proposal that received significant public pushback.
How the City will define what constitutes an abandoned structure remains up for debate.
A draft ordinance is expected to be provided at the August 16th City Council meeting. After that, a public hearing will be scheduled, with the draft potentially being adjusted based off of public comment.
Once the ordinance is ready to go, it will have to be approved twice by the City Council in order to be enacted.
The Committee said that their goal is to have the ordinance approved by the end of Mayor Tim Solomon’s term, which runs through the end of the calendar year.
