Those are the penalties spelled out in a proposal to tighten standards for homes and businesses in the township’s exterior property maintenance code, which also calls for similar fines for junk and recreational vehicles, and swimming pool guideline violators.
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“Obviously, it’s our goal to work with property owners in each of these cases … without going this route,” Miami Twp. Community Development Director Chris Snyder said. “Occasionally, we do have need to pursue action” on properties.
The 19-page proposal also outlines regulations for issues such as light fixtures, accessory structures, commercial parking, furniture and damaged property. The penalties would be as follows:
•1st offense: $100;
•2nd offense: $250;
•3rd offense: $500;
•4th and each subsequent offense: $1,000.
“It would be our intent in these cases that this would typically never get beyond the first violation,” Snyder told township trustees last week.
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Trustees took no action on the proposal, but might vote on it later this month.
Blight has been a priority for township officials since the adoption of a strategic plan three years ago. Using the township’s limited home rule authority, the proposal seeks to streamline its code and fine collection process.
Code enforcement “is certainly an important aspect of what our department manages on a day to day basis in terms of trying to maintain and preserve the investment that a lot of our property owners and business owners make within the community,” Snyder said.
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The proposal includes definitions that are consistent with language in the Ohio Revised Code, he said. It involves guilty parties paying the township directly rather than the current system of judges imposing fines and court costs, Snyder added.
“This will dramatically speed up the process of enforcing, through a citation, the property maintenance standards and strengthen our inspectors to deal with repeat violations and those violations that are extreme of our standards,” according to township records.
Some of the proposed standards include:
• Garbage containers: Permitted on curbs only 24 hours before and after designated collection days;
• RVs: Can be parked in front of a residence for loading and unloading for no more than 48 hours twice within 30 days. The 48 hours begins from the time the vehicle is first parked on the property. There is no time limit for RVs parked on the side of the residence.
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• Swimming pools: Defined as a pool designed to hold at least two feet of water.
Under the plan, Snyder said, civil citation notices would be sent to violating property owners, although staff seeks to contact first-time offenders “directly.” A police officer would issue the citation and property owners could either accept or challenge it, he said.
Violators could admit the problem and mail the fine or pay the fiscal officer directly, according to Snyder. Those who deny the charges can do so in writing or simply not pay the fine, prompting a court hearing, he said.
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