East Moline Council Approves Vacant Property Registration

The ordinance requires all vacant properties to be registered with the city. In addition to registration, property owners are required to submit a plan detailing regular maintenance and schedules for future construction or repair work.

A property must be registered if it is vacant for more than 30 days. Exceptions are made in the ordinance for buildings that are offered for rent or sale; property owners who have submitted plans to renovate the property within 12 months; vacation homes; if the owner is on active duty in the U.S. Armed Services; or vacancies resulting from a natural disaster or fire.

Registration is valid for six months, after which it must be renewed if the property is still vacant. Registration of a vacant residential property costs $150, and a vacant commercial property costs $200. Failure to comply may result in fines, forfeiture orders or liens on the property.

East Moline Community Development Director Tim Wymes said the purpose of the ordinance is not to charge fees or penalize people, but to hold vacant property owners accountable for maintaining their properties.

East Moline had building and maintenance codes in place before the law, but Wymes described the new law as an added layer that establishes the city’s expectations for vacant properties. Wymes also said the city is willing to talk to building owners to work out solutions to the problems.

“(The ordinance is) a way or mechanism for the city to communicate with the property owner,” Wymes said. “Building that communication, that relationship with the property owner with the hope of preserving the integrity of our community.”

Both Rock Island and Moline have similar city ordinances that govern the inspection and registration of vacant properties.

City staff will continue to play a key role in identifying problem properties that may be vacant, but now that the city has approved the ordinance, it plans to contract with an outside entity to handle the actual administration of the ordinance, such as locating and contacting building owners to let them know about problems.

Enforcement of the ordinance won’t begin until the city finds an outside firm that’s the best fit for the city, which Wymes hopes to complete by mid-October. He said addressing vacant properties in East Moline has been a priority for his department.

“Vacant properties cause crime and vandalism, and we don’t want that in our community,” Wymes said.