Aug. 19, 2015
HARRISBURG-- Rep. John Taylor (R-Philadelphia) has co-sponsored legislation to further combat blight in communities.
Under the Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act, the purchaser of a building with known code violations has 18 months or longer (if they make an agreement with a municipality) to correct the violations or demolish the building.
If the purchaser fails to do so within the required timeframe, the municipality may assess fines between $1,000 and $10,000.
House Bill 1437 would reduce the time to correct the violations to 12 months.
“Twelve months is a reasonable amount of time for purchasers to correct known code violations,” Taylor said. “There is no reason neighbors of the blighted property should have to put up with nuisances longer than necessary.”
The legislation would retain the ability of purchasers and municipalities to negotiate longer timeframes when needed.
“This is a commonsense piece of legislation that will go a long way toward helping municipalities rid their neighborhoods of blighted and dangerous properties in a faster timeframe,” Taylor said.
House Bill 1437 refines legislation Taylor guided through the legislature, including the state’s Conservatorship Act, which Taylor has amended to improve the process of allowing non-profits and other entities to eliminate blighted properties in their communities.
Among other legislation Taylor sponsored to fight blight include Act 135 of 2008, and the amendments in House Bill 1363, which allow parties or entities to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to be appointed conservator of a blighted, vacant property for the purpose of repairing same in order to bring the subject parcel back into productive use.
“We can improve neighborhoods one property at a time, while also ensuring that the City of Philadelphia collects delinquent real estate taxes at the time of the out-sale,” Taylor said.
A strong voice for the preservation of the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Taylor authored Act 153 of 2012, which allows Pennsylvania’s municipalities to create public land bank authorities in order to efficiently acquire, manage and develop tax-foreclosed properties.
Taylor’s Act 90 of 2010 allows a municipality to attach the personal assets of the negligent property owners of decaying, blighted eyesores.
Representative John Taylor
177th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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