Time to Resolve Blight Issues
Guest Editorial
In a perfect world Code Enforcement would not be necessary. In a perfect world, all property owners would meet their obligations to maintain land and buildings in the City of Frederick to the highest appropriate standards.
Because that landscape does not exist, the City has its own obligations. We have the absolute responsibility to every property owner and resident to enforce our property maintenance regulations.
There has been a great deal of debate on this issue recently sparked by the saga of 56 South Market Street. But this is just the sequel to the unresolved former Asiana property at 122-124 North Market, the vacant former Carmack Jays property and others in the 300 block of North Market Street, and the public's concerns that resulted in not one, but two, Blight and Vacant Property Committees.
I served as the liaison from the Board of Alderman to both; committees with knowledgeable, well-intentioned, citizens who spent months developing more than three dozen recommendations to help the City deal with these issues.
The most recent concerns, regarding 56 South Market, are whether or not the City has done enough to insure the health and safety of the public. Two structural engineers have found deficiencies in the building. The property owner has undertaken some emergency demolition. But the developer's plan to take down the remainder of the building will be subject to the rules that govern Frederick's Historic District.
It never should have gotten to this point. In an email recently to my colleagues and some concerned residents, I wrote that the lack of ongoing updates and communication is troubling and has fostered distrust that will not be easily repaired, between City Hall and the community.
Consistent, aggressive enforcement of the property maintenance code is essential. A policy that prioritizes the most relevant sections of the code to address the health, safety, and welfare concerns presented by blighted and vacant properties must be developed. And timelines for remediation need to be established, communicated, and strictly followed. Anything less is unacceptable.
There is plenty of blame to spread between the City's action or inaction in support of its own codes and a property owner's obligation to maintain what they own. The time for finger pointing has long passed. We need a way forward and resolution.
The communities in which these substandard properties are located, and their rightfully concerned neighbors, deserve nothing less.
Michael C. O'Connor, Alderman
The City of Frederick
101 N. Court Street
Frederick, MD 21701
301-676-7678
