By Matt Wiley
***Retraction: The photo that previously appeared with this story of a closed car wash on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel was unclear. While it was meant to show a business that was closed and overgrown, the car wash was closed when Pasco County widened S.R. 54, resulting in an eminent domain acquisition. The property is regularly maintained by Bosworth Enterprises, Inc. and the county is responsible for trimming the growth in the former photo. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion the photo may have caused.
As Pasco County continues to try to revamp its reputation and become an “elite” county, one County Commissioner from Wesley Chapel is proposing an ordinance to clean up run-down and abandoned businesses along Pasco’s busy north-south roadways and encourage business owners not to let their property begin to deteriorate.
Dist. 2 Comm. Mike Moore has proposed an ordinance that could result in fines, and even possible jail time, for business owners who let their properties sit abandoned and deteriorate.
“During the past several months, I’ve had citizens tell me that they’re sick of seeing dilapidated and blighted structures along several corridors in Pasco,” Moore says, pointing out that many are along the U.S. 41, U.S. 19 and U.S. 301 corridors, which aren’t in our area. “So, I decided to propose a commercial property maintenance ordinance that would hold commercial property owners (instead of the county) responsible for their dilapidated and blighted properties.”
Moore says that the unattractive structures can bring down the value of surrounding properties that are properly maintained.
“It’s harmful to economic development,” Moore explains. “We’re making large investments into developing this county and the last thing we need is a company that’s looking into the area to see these buildings as a deterrent. It’s a public safety concern, too.”
Moore explains that it’s not uncommon to find squatters and other illegal activity going on inside these abandoned buildings.
“If the windows are broken, people can get in or walk right through the doors into these properties and it attracts crime,” Moore says, adding that while most of the businesses in the Wesley Chapel area are newer buildings, the ordinance will serve as a reason for property owners to continue to keep up with the appearance of their properties. If not, they could be subject to major fines and yes, even time in jail.
Moore discussed the potential ordinance with his fellow commissioners during a workshop on August 11.
Senior assistant county attorney Kristi Sims told the Board that there already is a similar ordinance in place, which requires owners to maintain the appearance of their property or be held responsible for taking it down. However, under the current ordinance, if the owner doesn’t fix the problem or come forward with a plan for the building’s demolition, the county puts a lien on the property and, in some cases, even pays for the demolition, just to get rid of the dilapidated building(s).
However, in many cases, the county isn’t able to recover money from the owners once the building comes down. County administrator Michele Baker said that the county currently has about $1 million in liens from demolitions that it probably won’t ever get back.
Sims also noted that the new ordinance would give the blighted property owners a 30-day warning period to fix the problem. On Day 31, the problem becomes a violation and the owner is then given another 30 days to correct the problem. On Day 62, if the problem is still not resolved, the owner will begin receiving a citation for $500 per day for each infraction.
Moore stressed that the new ordinance would put the burden of demolition on the property owner, as opposed to the county.
“We’re giving people up to 60 days to correct that infraction and after that we’re going to hit them hard,” Moore told his fellow commissioners.
Sims said that once it’s been determined that a property meets the criteria of the ordinance, she would then get the owner in front of a county judge who would order the owner to fix the problem or take the building down. She said that if she can prove that the owner has the financial ability to fix the problem or demolish the building(s) and still doesn’t, that business owner could face jail time.
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Lt. Tait Sanborn expressed support for the ordinance. “We have some pretty significant concerns about some of these properties,” Sanborn said, describing an abandoned shopping center just north of the Pinellas County line (in the New Port Richey area) that’s notorious for homeless and criminal activity. “If you have a place that’s attracting a lot of negative attention activity and you have the opportunity to make it go away and eliminate it, that seems like a positive.”
Comm. Ted Schrader suggested a public meeting prior to adopting the ordinance for business owners who could possibly be affected — to encourage “transparency.”
“We don’t want people feeling like they were left out of this process,” Schrader said. “Anytime you provide information to those that could be affected, I believe that’s a positive thing.”
Moore said that the new ordinance was three-fold. “There’s the public safety aspect, the economic development aspect and the beautification side,” he said. “This could help us bring in additional businesses.”
The ordinance still has to go through a public hearing process, which was supposed to be scheduled for mid-September (although it had not yet been scheduled at our press time) and, if passed, could be enacted by October 1.
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