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The city of Lansing could change which properties deemed unsafe to occupy face possible demolition.
Currently, the city posts a red placard on any property it determines unfit to occupy. The city can order red tagged properties to be demolished if they are not made safe to occupy within a certain timeframe.
But not all red tagged properties are the same, Economic Development and Planning Director Rawley Van Fossen said.
A new ordinance being considered by City Council members would introduce black placards to distinguish properties that have significant structural damage from those that are unsafe to occupy for other reasons, like having utilities cut off for nonpayment.
He said being able to use black tags in addition to the traditional red tags would provide more flexibility to declare a property unsafe without sending it to a possible demolition process.
“We want to work with that person to rectify that,” Van Fossen said. “That's not a reason to tear a house down, let alone put it in any formal proceedings to even question such.”
The city would also begin posting notices on rentals that are unregistered or that fail an inspection without being red tagged. A rental can fail an inspection for things like missing smoke alarms.
The city currently sends letters notifying property owners in those cases. Van Fossen says posting the notices publicly would make the process more transparent for current and prospective tenants.
Another change would provide owners of red tagged properties relief from city fines if they are making progress on fixing the structure.
Property owners are charged a monthly red tag monitoring fee if the property hasn’t been brought up to code after 90 days.
The plan being considered by City Council members would allow owners of red tagged properties to request an exemption each month to the following month’s fees.
The change could remove a barrier for owners making a good faith effort to fix their red tagged properties and incentivize progress, Van Fossen said.
“This isn’t for folks who have a red tagged property and intend to sit on it red tag but just want to get out of paying that monthly monitoring fee,” Van Fossen said. “No, this is for folks who are actively working on repairing and rectifying the issue, and we see a benefit to not going to their monitoring. That might save them some dollars, hopefully they’re putting that back into the property and finishing even quicker.”
Property owners would have to demonstrate that they are working on the property. Proof could include permits for things like electrical or plumbing work.
There are more than 600 red tagged properties in Lansing, but more than half of them are in a single location at Sycamore Townhomes, Van Fossen said.
City Council members could vote on the proposals in March.
