The city of Richmond, VA has launched a major initiative against neighborhood blight and criminal activity brought about by the hundreds of vacant and abandoned properties that stretch across the Richmond community.

“It’s a well-known fact that derelict properties present safety and fire hazards, reduce property values, and degrade the community’s quality of life,” said Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, “and that’s why we have implemented this Vacant Building Registry: to ensure accountability on the part of landowners for the maintenance of their property.”

The new registry program, a growing trend among localities, enables the city to maintain an inventory of vacant housing that can be monitored for aggressive code compliance and enforcement.

The city is mailing notifications to approximately 3,200 owners of vacant buildings that must be registered and brought within code compliance by being either adequately boarded and secured or rehabilitated and made suitable for occupancy.

The city’s new Vacant Building Registry applies to any structure that has been vacant for a continuous period of 12 months or longer. Owners of these buildings are required to register their property annually with the city and pay a $25 fee each year.

Properties listed on the registry were compiled following field inspections by city staff since last year. City staff also utilized utility cut-off data to identify many of the vacant properties. Responses from landowners will confirm whether a property has been vacant for at least 12 months.

The registry of vacant properties may be viewed on the city’s Web site at www.RichmondGov.com by going to the Department of Community Development and clicking on “Property Maintenance” and scrolling down to the “Vacant Building Property” lists.

Richmond also has initiated a “Spot Blight” program whereby dilapidated structures can either be repaired by the city with costs being placed as a lien on the property, or the city can acquire or dispose of the property.

These new initiatives represent the city’s move toward proactive building code enforcement, without waiting for citizens to complain about a property, as had been the usual practice in the past.

For more information, contact Linwood Norman for the city of Richmond at 804.646.0434 or email normanlp@ci.richmond.va.us. You may also visit www.richmondgov.com.