Residents to decide fate of Property Maintenance Code

Thursday, September 1, 2005

By CARLA SMITH
ThisWeek Contributor

The residents of Prairie Township will ultimately decide the fate of a Property Maintenance Code on Nov. 8.

The required paperwork to place the issue on the fall ballot was filed prior to the Franklin County Board of Elections' Aug. 25 deadline. Township trustees passed a resolution at their Feb. 2 board meeting to allow the issue to go to the ballot.

The referendum is an effort to overturn the board's decision last year to put a code in place. The effort was initiated by resident and township trustee candidate Steve Kennedy who said that it wasn't so much the issue of the code but how trustees passed it.

"They didn't listen to the majority of the people," Kennedy said. "Most people don't think it is the government's place to tell them how to maintain their house."

The idea to create a Property Maintenance Code began in spring of 2004. It was at that time that a committee of five residents were brought to the table to lend additional perspectives to the community discussion over the content and adoption of the code.

The code itself is broken down into five sections or articles which includes its purpose, administration and enforcement, and residential property maintenance standards.

Under the Structural Soundness and Maintenance of Dwellings section, the code addresses foundations, exterior walls and surfaces, windows, exterior doors, roof and gutters. The code also addresses how the township will enforce the code, possible fines and what residents can expect should they receive notice of a violation.

The code underwent several revisions after public input was sought.

Township officials have said numerous times that the code would give the zoning department an extra tool to crack down on owners who continue to neglect their property. It allows the township to work with residents to resolve zoning issues rather than sending the property owner directly to court.

Residents have had the opportunity to have their voices heard on the issue at open house events and public meetings. The last public meeting held on the issue took place on Dec. 21 and had to be moved from the township hall to the fire house on Inah Avenue after 200 people showed up to voice their displeasure in adopting such a code. Trustees voted 2-1 to approve the code which would have went into effect 30 days after passage.

Once the code was adopted by trustees, Kennedy set out to collect the required signatures to overturn the board's decision. Within 10 days, Kennedy managed to obtain 763 names of residents who either opposed the adoption of the code or wanted the chance to vote on it. The board of elections ended up certifying 625 of those names.

"We are not a Dublin or Upper Arlington," Kennedy said. "If we wanted the government to tell us what to do we would have bought our houses in Dublin or Upper Arlington."

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