BEAUMONT, Texas — The Beaumont City Council approved a new ordinance that is requiring owners of vacant buildings to register their properties with the city.
Plans were in motion to get this done in the spring and after the Gilbert Building went up in flames this summer, the city has ramped up its efforts to get the ordinance passed.
City leaders say there have been several cities who have put this ordinance in place and they saw two outcomes. Either owners finally improved their buildings, or they sold them to someone who would.
"It's not to punish property owners, but it is to have a downtown that's attractive and where we can have more development," said Beaumont Mayor Roy West.
West says a new vacant building registry ordinance will soon be in effect for downtown buildings.
"If it has less than 50% occupancy for a multi-tenant building. And it's defined geographically basically from Calder to College area," West said.
He says in past years, the city has been lenient with code enforcement.
"As the inspections occur and that type of work occurs, that costs the city money. So for a period of time the city did not actively enforce that," said West.
That has changed this year.
"We started an enhanced code enforcement this past spring where we were checking buildings and we cited several buildings," West told 12News.
He says citation can lead to owners being taken to municipal court and if they don't respond the city can step in to board up windows and put a lien on buildings.
The recently passed ordinance will require vacant building owners to do a few things:
- Providing floor plans to first responders
- Installing fire alarms security cameras or hiring security during evening hours
- Exterior lightening
- Annual inspections
- Annual registration starting at $600
- A long term plan for the building
The annual fee for the registry starts at $600 and caps out at $20,000 after 10 years. Fees vary depending of the building's size.
Megan Cobb who owns Tuluka Trades, right across the street from the Gilbert Building believes cameras would be most beneficial.
"Before the building was secured there were safety issues and when kids can get into old buildings they will. So the accountability afforded by cameras would go very far for safety," Cobb said,
West says if a building owner refuses to register their building they would receive a citation. He tells 12News they are still working to figure out a date to begin enforcing the new ordinance.