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<br />November 28, 2018, Work Session – Item 1 <br /> <br />including an owner defaulting on their mortgage, lengthy bank foreclosure processes, or even cost prohibitive home repairs. There are other situations where the owner may choose to secure the building and leave it vacant rather than make any corrections to reoccupy. Vacant buildings may become an ongoing nuisance for the neighborhood and have an impact on City resources. Without an owner, tenant or property manager actively managing and monitoring the upkeep and activity of a property, a building may deteriorate into a state of disrepair. Abandoned, distressed or derelict properties can result in general safety and health concerns, creating an attractant for squatters, trash, debris, rodents and criminal activity. There are times when banks are unwilling to assume full responsibility for a property until it has regained legal possession. If left unresolved, these issues may have serious detrimental effects on neighborhoods. Under the City’s existing codes, as long as a vacant building remains secure and in compliance with other City codes no further enforcement action can be taken. <br />Hoarding In addition to seeing an increase in the number of vacant buildings, staff has seen a steady increase in the number of dangerous buildings as a result of hoarding. The City has an existing dangerous building code used to address this serious habitability concern. However, hoarding presents some unique challenges and updating the code language would provide the City with an opportunity to include language that may provide clarification around this specific issue. <br />Direction The City’s nuisance codes have not been updated since the 1980’s. The City’s existing codes may be deficient, in some areas, to address the livability issues that have emerged in the last 20 years. Eugene’s population continues to grow; this has resulted in an increase in density and a change in the character of properties, many of which have become mixed use. Based on this information City Council directed the City Manager to (1) bring back ordinance code amendment language similar to the cities of Corvallis, Portland, Gresham and Salem to address negative effects on neighborhoods cause by vacant buildings, dangerous conditions caused by hoarding, and nuisance odors related to the processing of marijuana in residential zones; and (2) conduct a comprehensive review of the existing nuisance code for additional revisions that may address other modern livability issues, which may include adding a property maintenance code similar to the cities of Corvallis, Portland, Gresham and Salem. In response to council’s direction staff has prepared draft code changes to address abandoned and vacant buildings, hoarding and nuisance odors (Attachment A). The changes were made to the City’s nuisance code section found in Chapter 6, Environment and Health. These changes include adding the following definitions: abandoned and derelict structures; attractive nuisances; unoccupied; unsecured; building interiors; and unfit for human habitation. In addition, code language was added to include receivership authority. Receivership is tool used when a property is abandoned, a jurisdiction is unable to achieve voluntary compliance, and the property has