Minneapolis city, community leaders say new ordinance aims to decrease number of vacant, hazardous buildings
MINNEAPOLIS — City and community leaders in Minneapolis on Monday detailed an ordinance that they hope will reduce the amount of hazardous vacant buildings.
Last week, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed the ordinance that places a two-year time limit on the eligibility for a building to be on the vacant building registry, or VBR. Right now, there is no limit, so some properties have been vacant for years.
At a late morning news conference held outside a former Burger King restaurant, City Council members Robin Wonsley and Jeremiah Ellison, along with community leaders, spoke on the ordinance.
"Vacant buildings — inactive buildings — they're a hazard. They're a health hazard, they're a safety hazard to the communities that we live in," Ellison said.
Ellison says that, traditionally, there's been a flat fine for these vacant buildings, which many property owners have been paying. Ellison says it's helped encourage some property owners to make their buildings active, but problems persist.
"Some folks just take the fee as the cost of doing business," Ellison said, noting the condition of the former Burger King restaurant behind him.
Ellison says the City Council has looked into ways to "fairly and adequately" increase the fees for vacant buildings and create a pathway to getting these vacant buildings back to an active status.
Wonsley says residents have been asking for the city to address vacant and hazardous properties for years.
"Creating a time limit for the VBR eligibility will help these chronic vacancies support the city's overall efforts to increase more housing, to increase more commercial space and essentially have fewer hazardous properties across our city," Wonsley said.