1. Thank You Sponsors!

2. Nuisance Abatement
How Camp Washington has Used the Nuisance Abatement Statue
to Fight Blight, Reclaim Housing, and, Re-Populate Our Neighborhood

3. Camp Washington Community Board, Inc.
Joseph T. Gorman, Executive Director
2951 Sidney Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45225
(513)
A people-profit organization since 1975

4. ORC
Ohio Revised Code
 » Title [37] XXXVII HEALTH - SAFETY - MORALS 
» Chapter 3767: NUISANCES
Buildings found to be public nuisance.

5. Ultimate Goal
Get property out of bad ownership and into good ownership hands
Cannot be ownership
Cannot be making a profit
Why properties are in bad shape anyway – no economic sense to fix it up (i.e., liens, mortgages, City fines, etc.)

6. What Buildings Can Be Pursued?
Who Has Standing?
The City
Property owners within 500 feet
Nonprofit organizations which has as their mission to improve housing
What Buildings Can Be Pursued?
Residential buildings – SF or multi-family (but, not owner occupant of two-family or less)
Mixed use buildings with commercial space on the first floor
Not commercial or industrial

7. Lawsuit Filed in Common Pleas Court
Title search – lien and mortgage issues
File the lawsuit, talk later
Asking the judge to declare building a public nuisance
Asking the judge to appoint a receiver to abate the nuisance
Be flexible – “things must just unfold”
The Receiver
Can be different from the entity filing the lawsuit (1373 Avon Place)
Must present a plan to abate nuisance, including demolition is rehab is not an option.

8. Abating the Nuisance Sample Budget Doing the work
Filing the lien – what’s cool about this is that receivership lien is in first position, even before property taxes. This gives you serious power to deal.
Sample Budget
Roof 10,000
Windows 6,000
Tuck-pointing 2,000
Landscaping – weed removal 3,000
Administrative fee 4,000
Total 25,000

9. Wrapping it Up Camp Facts Disposing of Property
Finding a buyer – court approved sale
Foreclosure of the lien – Sheriff’s Sale
Wrapping it Up
Deed of Receiver
Report to the Court of final disposition
Camp Facts
We have filed 19 lawsuits
We have received 9 properties
10 properties were abated by owners we sued

10. City Considers fix-up Strategy Cincinnati Enquirer -2/19/2004
“If Camp Washington can do this by raising money from bingo games, we as a city need to figure out how to make it work.”
- David Pepper

11. Strategies for Revitalizing Blighted Areas
Edward Cunningham, Department of Buildings & Inspection
Jessica Powell, City Law Department

12. City of Cincinnati – Overview of “the Problem”
The City of Cincinnati has 2,200 vacant problem buildings.
The greatest challenge is finding the funding to repair or demolish the many abandoned buildings that are beyond repair.
Laws that are founded on the presumption that “all land has value” can come up short in light of the conditions created by the housing and foreclosure crisis. The private market does not take care of these abandoned properties and they become a burden to local government.

13. Code Enforcement Mission:
"Elimination of blight and building safety hazards and promotion of building repair and renovation through education and enforcement of the property maintenance codes to protect the public health, safety and quality of life."

14. Essential Enforcement Program Elements
Good inspectors & leadership
Good code enforcement records
Coordinated code enforcement departments
A toolbox of enforcement / compliance options
Abatement funds
Law civil & criminal actions
Land bank collaboration
Community partners

15. Reactive Code Enforcement
Problem – The City’s code enforcement is (largely) reactive. By the time the City cites a blighted property or utilizes other tools, the costs associated with repair have skyrocketed, making demolition the “only” option

16. Reactive Code Enforcement

17. Location, location, location
market forces work differently in every neighborhood, and vary from block to block
A tale of 2 cities: two long-time vacant / blighted properties
Which house was demolished?
Which house was rehabbed & resold for >$750,000?

18. Department of Buildings & Inspections Property Maintenance Code Enforcement
The Property Maintenance Division is charged with eliminating blight and building safety hazards and promotes building repair and renovation through education and enforcement to protect the public health, safety and quality of life.
PMCE received about 6,000 requests for service each year. These requests include tenant complaints about poor housing conditions and neighbor complaints of blight on commercial and residential buildings and premises.

19. Property Maintenance Code Enforcement PROGRAMS / ENFORCEMENT ORDINANCES
Vacated Building Maintenance License (CMC et. Seq.)
Requires owners of properties that have been vacated to attain a VBML maintenance license & comply with minimal maintenance requirements
Vacant Foreclosed Property Registration (CMC Chapter 1123)
Requires mortgagee banks to register residential properties that become vacant during the foreclosure process so that the City has a bank point-of-contact
Enacted in height of foreclosure crisis when residents & city officials could not find right person to contact for maintenance or other problems for properties in foreclosure

20. Property Maintenance Code Enforcement PROCESS
INTAKE- Complaint or Proactive Concentrate Code Program
INSPECTION- Inspector inspects property noting all violations.
ORDER ISSUANCE- An order to correct the violations by a specified time issued to owner.
PRE-PROSECUTION- An informal hearing for the owner to show cause not to prosecute.
LEGAL ACTION
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION- Criminal M-1 6 mo. Jail and/or $1000. Or Civil $ fine doubles in 7 days.
CIVIL ACTION – Nuisance / receivership action / fines
SUMMARY ABATEMENT- The City enters on the property and performs the abatement work.
VACATED BUILDING MAINTENANCE- Requires that vacated buildings be maintained and registered.

21. Department of Public Service - Weed & Litter Enforcement
Weed & litter ordinance (CMC Chapters 713 and 741)
OLD
owner cited if litter or grass 10+ inches
If problem not abated upon re-inspection, property referred for abatement at city cost
no new case or citation created by City until abatement completed (avg. wait 6-9 months!)
NEW:
Owner cited if weeds or grass 10+ inches
If problem not abated upon re-inspection, property deemed “abandoned”, and referred for regular abatement at city cost
Case stays open – regular inspection schedule in which citations are reissued if problems persist; for high grass, threshold lowered to 6+ inches (recognizing that regular maintenance – and not waiting for grass to grow to 10+ inches is cheaper for city)

22. Coordinating Code Enforcement Efforts within your Jurisdiction
code enforcement at properties is not limited to just one department / division
in the City, coordinated code efforts include
Buildings, Division of Property Maintenance Code Enforcement
Health
Department of Public Services, Weed & Litter control unit
Fire Department
Police

23. Coordinating Code Enforcement Efforts within your Jurisdiction cincycodeneforcement.com – online records

24. Vacant (& Occupied) Property Remedies
Statutory Nuisance / Receiverships (ORC )
Criminal prosecution
Tax foreclosure (regular or expedited)
City foreclosure on judgments &/or abatement costs
Strong market forces &/or subsidies

25. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Action filed in Common Pleas court to have a receiver appointed to abate the nuisance conditions
City considers filing when other avenues for compliance have been exhausted
Receiver motivation = costs for repairs become a super-priority lien on property
Challenge = Not always economically feasible if cost of repairs > value of property
Bigger challenge = Hamilton County does not have a housing court 

26. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Standing to File
Municipality or township
Neighbors within 500 feet of the property
Tenants
Nonprofit groups who have the goal of improving housing conditions
Not just for vacant buildings

27. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Eligible Buildings
Residential Buildings
May have commercial space on the 1st floor
Cannot be owner occupied with less than 3 units

28. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Receiver Duties
Estimate the cost to abate the nuisance
Estimate income and expenses for the building after abatement
Provide terms conditions & availability of financing of repairs
If repair is not feasible, estimate cost of demolition

29. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Powers of Receiver
Take possession of the building
Lease the building and collect rents
Pay operating expenses
Remove or dispose of personal property in the building’
Borrow money against the building’
Give custody & opportunity to abate the nuisance to the owner or other interested parties

30. Public Nuisance Receivership Actions – ORC 3767.41
Miscellaneous:
Sometimes subsidizing your receiver is necessary (and worth it)
Cost of demo = $12K/avg

31. Receivership
A tale of 2 cities: two long-time vacant / blighted properties
Which house was demolished?
Which house was rehabbed & resold for >$750,000?

32. Criminal prosecution
Used for more serious violations involving safety issues, willful disregard of the code, and/or longstanding violations.
Failure to comply with orders under Cincinnati Municipal Code Sec is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by 6 months in jail and/or a $ fine.
CMC Chapter 1601 – quality of life provisions
Challenge = corporate and LLC owners cannot be tried in abstentia (State of Ohio v. TC Funding Group, 1st Dist. No. C )
Benefit = can try agents of LLC’s as “person-in-control”

33. Tax Foreclosure (regular or expedited)
Work with HCLRC (Landbank) and/or Treasurer
Tax foreclosure is a good tool for getting control of
Encumbered bank walk away properties
Defunct LLC’s
Revised Code Chapters 323 and 5721
Landbank works with County Prosecutor & Treasurer to use Expedited BOR process (faster than traditional tax foreclosure)

34. City Foreclosure
Action under RC to foreclose on barricade / demolition liens (eff. November 2014 )
Foreclosure on other judgments (RC Chapter 2744)

35. Voluntary Compliance Strategies
Provide owners resources (if possible)
Encourage donation to landbank (they have $ to demolish single- family and 4-family or less in certain neighborhoods)
Incentivize good owners by allowing for waiver of fees if owner submits plans to stabilize vacant properties (see CMC )

36. Voluntary Compliance Strategies
A difficult case…
Elderly widow -homeowner
Confined to a Wheelchair
Lived in the house over 20 years
Rear section of house collapsing

37. Voluntary Compliance Strategies
Collaboration
Building Value – Deconstruction/Salvage
People Working Cooperatively – Non-Profit Home Repair
Social Services
Community Development Corporations
Department of Community Development
Many more…..

38. Final Thoughts Other regulatory ideas for proactive code enforcement
rental inspection programs
façade inspection
fire escape inspection
Tax lien certificates sold on the private market can wreak havoc on properties
Dealing with LLC’s is tough
They represent the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis
Don’t maintain
Hard to catch
Can be predatory in nature: Land sale K’s & lease options contracts

39. Essential Partnerships
CDC’s
Legal Aid Society
Tenants
Community Councils
Treasurer’s Office
Land Bank
Local policy groups
Elected representatives
Others

40. QUESTIONS?