KEOKUK – The Keokuk City Council had its second reading of the proposed Vacant Property Registry, which would require all owners of vacant properties to register their buildings with the city.
Once vacant property owners register, they will be required to pay a fee, increasing each year progressively at a set rate. “This fee schedule is based on what other communities have done,” City Council Member Roslyn Garcia said. “Pam (Broomhall) and Casey (Barnes) have worked hard on this and wrote the schedule with rates appropriate for our area.”
One more reading is scheduled at the next City Council meeting, scheduled for Dec. 15. Residents are invited, as always, to attend the meeting to voice questions or concerns.
Once the ordinance passes, the city will send it to the media for publishing. Ten days after publication, the regulation will go into effect. Once the ordinance is in effect, vacant property owners must register and pay the fees.
The proposed fee schedule will have an initial registration cost of $200. The first renewal will be $400, the second will be $800, the third will be $1,600, and the fourth and subsequent years will be $3,200.
“If vacant property owners register within the first 60 days the registry goes effective, they will only be required to pay $50 instead of the initial $200 annual charge,” Community Development Director Pam Broomhall said.
A group of people uniquely impacted by this new ordinance is snowbirds, who live in Keokuk half of the year but reside in another location during the winter. The Council has proposed an amendment to exclude snowbirds from the fee schedule. With the amendment, snowbirds would not be required to register or pay a fee to be on the vacant property registry. However, if they would like to be on the register, they could give their contact information to the city in case of an emergency free of charge. The only requirement is proof of residency for the snowbird’s winter location.
