The tougher ordinances are geared toward criminal and civic infractions
Waverly Council members are considering legislation that would sharpen the teeth of the village’s nuisance laws considerably. Over the past decade, the village has suffered a reasonably significant decrease in its population. In fact, it was not all that long ago that Waverly was forced to give up its official title of City and accept the reclassification of Village.
With the decrease in population, Waverly has seen an increase in the number of vacant properties scattered throughout the village. Due to neglect, a few of these properties have been deemed a public nuisance. But when it comes to getting the property cleaned up, the village’s current nuisance laws do little to encourage property owners to make the required changes.
However, an ordinance introduced at Tuesday’s village council meeting would change all that by socking property owners with costly fines for disregarded citations.
Under the proposed legislation, if a public nuisance is found, a citation detailing the nuisance would be issued in writing to the owner of the property or properties. The owner would then have 30 days to correct the violation.
If the nuisance is remedied by the owner to the satisfaction of Waverly’s Safety Director, then no further action will be taken. During that same 30-day period, incase more time is needed, property owners also have the option of submitting a plan of action to the Safety Director detailing how and when the nuisance will be corrected.
If the owner does not resolve the issue or submit a plan of action within 30 days, the owner will then be subject to a fine of 50 dollars per day until either the nuisance is cured or the owner commences with a plan of action. If the fine is not paid after 90 days, the owner will face additional penalties.
The ordinance will go up for second reading at council’s next session on March 5th.
