When Ridgefield hosts a Town Hall public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 for the town's proposed blight ordinance, First Selectman Rudy Marconi is hoping people show up and say what they think.
In June 2012, the Board of Selectmen were talking about a part of the ordinance that fines blighted properties, and about using town employees to clean them up, and how blighted properties lower nearby property values.
"We want to give people plenty of time to comment and discuss the ordinance," Marconi said.
Ridgefield has been considering an ordinance to reduce blight around town for two years, and Ridgefield is drawing parts of its proposed ordinance from neighboring towns. Ridgefield's proposed ordinance can be read in its entirety here.
Danbury has been fighting blight since roughly 2004, and the city's Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team reviews complaints. It takes months to find the person responsible for a property. Who owns it might appear simple, (perhaps a foreign bank,) but in a recession knowing the name isn't enough. In some cases, no owner or property manager can be found, said Jeff Preston, who does the ownership searches for the UNIT in Danbury.
Ridgefield's ordinance calls for a hearing within 30 days once blight has been confirmed and the owner given notice. State law allows a property owner to be fined up to $250 per day for what it calls, "willful violation."
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