You know them. We've all seen them on our drives through town. They're the commercial buildings that time and their owners have forgotten. Maybe they have a real estate sign posted, maybe they're just wearing the former signage of a long-gone tenant. There is no mistaking that they are vacant.
Years ago, Kissimmee started work on minimum maintenance ordinances for commercial and residential properties. Even though the push at the time was for a commercial minimum maintenance ordinance, the residential ordinance came first. There was much hand-wringing and concern at the time that the city would issue violations for a paint chip missing from a house, and outrage that the city would dare to regulate the number of cars that could be parked on the front lawn of a residence. Many of the areas of concern were toned down or eliminated from the final ordinance, and its passage came and went.
Yet there is still no commercial minimum maintenance ordinance. Unfortunately, the buildings that would most be impacted by this type of ordinance are not buildings with short-term problems. They are well-known in the community, having sat in their current state for years.
Property rights are a huge issue, and far be it from us to tell someone how to use their land and buildings. Until their non-use of the buildings starts to negatively impact their neighbors and the community at large. Want to hold a vacant shell of a building for years as some kind of tax strategy? Great, but you at least have to keep the exterior of the building clean and presentable, because your neighbor is actually trying to run a profit-seeking business next door, and your dilapidated building is scaring away their customers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
If this commission has done anything, it is that they have failed at every goal they have set. The sad part is that even if the minimum maintenance was again revived, how long would it take for the commission to cave in when someone they knew ran into a problem with the ordinance. Just like adding schools on Vine... It helped a contributor so it must be ok.
They cut the social service budget last night. They have working that budget down over the past serveral years, so it was not really a suprise to anyone. Lets see, cut funding on public transportation (LYNX), cut funding on social services, and trim the budgets on maintenance at our public parks... Can we say that the City of Kissimmee has declared war on the poor and those in need? At a time in our country when people need help the most, the City has declared war its residents in need.
Post a Comment