There is an amendment to an ordinance coming for vote at this Tuesday?s Planning Board meeting that would change the process when selling your home. If passed at the Tuesday?s Planning Board meeting, the ordinance would then go before the City Council to be voted on and codified. Many feel that as it is written, there are questions and concerns that should be addressed prior to this going for passage.

Touching on two key components of the ordinance;

Prior to selling your property, an owner would have to obtain a Certificate of Compliance issued by a Zoning officer. The compliance process would include inspecting each property prior to sale, part of which would be to ascertain that the property is being used in accordance to its zoning requirements, (example- zoned for two families, used as three families).

While most would be in agreement, that properties should be used in accordance to their zoning restrictions, the concern is in the execution of this step. In 2014, over 1,750 residential properties alone were sold according to the Liberty Board of Realtors. This brings questions such as; is there manpower to administer this step, will new zoning inspectors be hired, what would be the required time frame of the zoning officers to complete this step? all questions that should be understood prior to passing the ordinance.

Property sales are often time sensitive, delays can put a stop to a property sale and have negative impact to buyers and sellers, by impeding property sales and setting a stage for plummeting property values. Zoning inspections should be an ongoing process.

Another important point, is a line in the language of the ordinance;

If the subject property complies with all provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, the Zoning Officer, shall issue the Zoning Certificate of Compliance within ten (10) business days of receiving a complete application and evidence that all taxes have been paid on the subject property.

?all taxes have been paid?

Sadly, many homeowners must sell their properties due to their inability to make payment on property taxes and may be behind in payment. Currently, these homeowners can sell their property and pay owed taxes at the time of the sale. As we understand it, with the proposed ordinance, that would no longer be possible to do. For many, if they were able to pay their taxes, they might not have to sell their home in the first place.

Illustration- Imagine a senior couple living on fixed income that may have hit on hard times due to medical bills and have fallen behind on their taxes. They decide to sell, pay off the taxes at the time of sale and move on. With the proposed ordinance, they would not be able to obtain the Certificate of Compliance necessary to sell the house since taxes have not been paid current. According to our understanding, the Certification of Compliance is required to complete a property closing. Zoning would not issue the certificate until the taxes are paid. The property goes to lien, seized at some point and the couple is out on their luck. Many to most people have most of their wealth in their property. It's quite the land grab and therein would lie the path to destruction for many.

While we understand and agree for the need to have properties remain within their zoning restrictions and the importance of the City to collect its due revenue, the trajectory of this ordinance is anti working-class/family, anti fixed-income/senior and discourages new comers from planting roots in our City.

There are many questions with respect to this proposed amendment to the ordinance. At this Tuesday?s Planning Board meeting, those knowledgeable in this field will be speaking and will request that this amendment be withdrawn until meetings occur to fully understand and discuss the language of the proposed ordinance.

Home owners need a sound ordinance that is viable for all stake holders.

Your presence at the meeting is most needed. Please tell your neighbors. Thank you.


Planning Board Meeting
Tuesday, January 20th, 2015
City Hall
280 Grove Street
5:30pm