WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons tabled a request for the town to consider adopting an abandoned properties ordinance.
Resident Mark Shibles met with the board Tuesday to discuss writing an ordinance because of the number of unattended, vacant buildings in Wilton.
“I’m concerned about the abandoned structures — homes — many are dilapidated, unsightly and probably unsafe,” he said Thursday. “It provides a picture of Wilton that is not going to attract business to help offset the tax rates.”
Shibles presented board members with a copy of an ordinance adopted by Searsport that defines an abandoned building as one “unoccupied or unmaintained for 90 days, except garages.” The ordinance defines standards for owners to meet and requires a permit provided by a code enforcement officer based on an inspection of the property.
Some of this may not apply to Wilton but it is a place to start, Shibles said Thursday. Other towns are doing this and the situation in Wilton will not get better, only worse, if they don’t do something, he said.
Shibles also suggested the town hire a full-time code enforcement officer, instead of part-time, after the current CEO retires in June.
Members wanted a chance to look over the ordinance and consider options for the town, while some voiced hesitancy based on the costs, and the town’s ability to govern ordinances.
“I don’t want another ordinance,” Selectperson Scott Taylor said. “We can’t fulfill the ones we have now.”
Current ordinances for property cleanup can require court action. The board and Finance Committee would need to bump up legal fees and funds for a full-time CEO, or this is not a realistic option at this point, he said.
“They say they can’t afford it, but they can’t afford not to do it,” Shibles said Thursday. “Drive down Main Street. Some (property owners) have not done anything for years. It just gets worse every year.”
Property owners continue to pay taxes on the the vacant properties, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said. Tax payment leaves few options for the town to take.
Letters sent to owners regarding a cleanup to meet the town’s property ordinance have worked in some cases, she said.
Shibles also wanted all apartments in town inspected by the code enforcement officer, and for the town to keep a list of abandoned properties, for the owners to maintain them and the code officer to inspect them twice a year, Irish said.
The board tabled it but could decide to forward the request to the ordinance committee for their recommendations.
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