Astoria Derelict Buildings Direction

We are at least a couple of meetings away from the council passing a new set of rules on property standards within city limits. The new ordinance takes into account current rules on the books and adds a few more to deal specifically with some properties that can only be described as a nuisance.

City planner Rosemary Johnson told the council last night that even though there are some new standards for private property owners the intent was to avoid creating a "hate your neighbor law" that one neighbor could use to harass another. Tough to accomplish.

I'm not in love with the new rules on landscaping that are part of this law because by design they need to be a little vague. Under this law vegetation has to be trimmed so that it is at least a foot away from any outside wall of your house. I have this particularly stubborn bush that insists on hugging the side of one corner of my house. I suppose that under this new law this very stubborn bit of greenery will have to be rooted out. I'll miss it though. It's been a love/hate relationship from the start. Oh well.

Back to the new law. It could take effect by March of next year. It has another small loophole. The law states that broken windows must be replaced. That's okay but the law goes on to say that using temporary measures such as plywood to cover the broken window is forbidden after a reasonable amount of time on buildings that appear abandoned. This gets tricky. The Astoria Aquatic center would be in violation since it uses plywood for extended periods in this fashion but since it's not entirely abandoned I suppose this is one of those loopholes in the new rules.

The rules for commercial buildings say the city prefers window displays to prevent empty properties from looking..well..empty. They suggest tourist information, displays of some kind, or artwork to fill the windows to make the downtown look more vibrant. In comments from the city attorney it is cautioned that our constitutionally protected freedom of speech rights would prevent the city from actually specifying what can be expressed in those displays. City sign code would also play a role.

The 28 page document that make up the new rule is actually a good piece of work that will never be perfect but may allow the city to have some measure of control over problem properties both private and commercial. It does so without telling you what bushes to plant or what color you must paint your house. It goes where we need it to go in securing public safety and putting some enforcement behind forcing negligent building owners to step up. It also may end up helping those with historic properties to find some financial help to do restoration work.

The rules also specify what exactly constitutes "rubbish". This includes a number of not terribly surprising objects. It also includes coal and coke left lying around. Since our Mayor is a Pepsi guy naturally the mention of coke as part of the definition of rubbish drew some dry wit to comment. Not the same sort of coke, of course but the comment was irresistible.