The rules committee walked through proposed changes to Logansport’s unsafe-property and vacant-property ordinances and agreed to move the revisions forward to city council for formal consideration.

Planning and code staff (Speaker 9) said the vacant-property changes focus on downtown storefront activation and add a 30-day registration trigger for vacant properties in the downtown boundaries. Staff emphasized that the definition targets first-floor storefronts on the primary downtown corridor so that second-floor apartments do not cause a property to be labeled vacant if a storefront remains active.

For downtown properties, staff proposed a graduated semiannual registration schedule designed to encourage occupancy: $1,500 for the first year, $3,000 for the second year and $4,500 for the third year and each year after. Civil penalties were proposed for noncompliance (a $2,500 penalty within the first 60 days and additional $1,000 increments every 90 days thereafter), and staff noted these penalties can be placed on the property tax roll under state unsafe-property procedures.

Staff also proposed insurance requirements for properties on the vacant list: a minimum $500,000 liability policy for commercial properties and $250,000 for residential, with property owners required to notify the city if insurance cancels. Staff said enforcement officers may waive registration fees when a property owner demonstrates active repair work and permits have been pulled, and that property owners have up to one year to complete repairs before further escalation to the enforcement body (Board of Works).

The unsafe-property revisions mirror state law by designating planning, building, fire, code enforcement and health officials as parties who can bring properties to the enforcement body. Staff said Logan’s Landing and downtown stakeholders were consulted during drafting and that Logan’s Landing will assist with outreach by sharing notice to its email listserv.

Next steps: the committee agreed to forward the vacant- and unsafe-property revisions to the full council for formal readings and public notice. Staff will provide the vacant-property registry list (including owner names and addresses) to council members upon request.