St. Louis looks at registering vacant houses

ST. LOUIS -- With thousands of homes in St. Louis sitting vacant, city officials are looking at ways to keep better track of where they are and who's responsible for them.

A bill was proposed earlier this month to the Board of Aldermen that would require the owners of vacant buildings to register the properties with the city, as well as pay an annual fee.

Sponsor Kacie Starr Triplett, who represents the city's 6th Ward, said it's an attempt to deal with the empty, deteriorating houses that attract criminals and vandals and hurt the property values of neighbors.

"Right now, the city of St. Louis makes it easy to own vacant properties," Triplett said. "This bill allows the city to finally play offense."

The bill, for which a public hearing has not yet been scheduled, would apply to houses that have been vacant for more than 60 days and aren't under construction or for sale. The owner would have to give the city the name and contact information for someone to contact if there's a problem with the property. The registry would be open to public viewing and it would cover both private and city-owned properties.

The owner would also have to pay a fee that would increase over time, starting at $50 for the first year, $150 for the second year and $250 for every year after that. That would be besides a $200 fine for every six months that a building was out of compliance with city code requirements.

"The purpose is not to fine the death out of someone," Triplett said. "It's simply a push to get you to think twice about letting it sit."

She said having the contact information is just as important as the city now often only has a post office box or the address of the empty house itself, especially if the house is owned by a bank or investment group. Notices and bills mailed to those locations often receive no response.

Having better information may increase the likelihood an owner will fix problems at the house, said Antionette Cousins, executive director of the Riverview West Florissant Development Corp.

"It's definitely something that's needed," she said. "We need to be holding them more accountable."

Cities like Chicago and Cincinnati already have similar registries, said Jennifer Leonard, director of the National Vacant Properties Campaign in Washington.

"It seems like we hear about tens of them every week," she said, adding that the increase in foreclosures and other problems linked to the mortgage crisis has made them more popular.

The city's Building Department has about 4,000 privately owned buildings on its registry for code violations. Another 1,500 are owned by the city's Land Reutilization Authority.

The 2000 Census counted more than 11,000 "long-term" vacant buildings in St. Louis, which would be the highest vacancy rate in the country, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The bank believes that number has only grown since then.

In addition, an unknown number of houses owned by banks and investment groups sit empty.

City officials have tried to deal with the worst of these buildings, levying the $200 fines for code violations. Those fines have generated more than $250,000 a year, said associate city counselor Matt Moak. He said those fines have kept the number of problem buildings from growing, despite the foreclosure epidemic.

Triplett said she first proposed the bill last year but took it back "for more work." There's been little vocal opposition although some real estate agents and developers have raised concerns. But it does have eight co-sponsors among the 29-member board.