Property owners respond to Charleston's new ordinance
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — Some property owners are questioning why they were never asked for input on a new City of Charleston ordinance that seeks to get rid of nuisance properties.
The new rule has property owners questioning why the city never asked them for their input.
Property owner Al Sines rents 45 properties throughout the city of Charleston. Daily you can find him picking up trash, checking on his tenants and making sure his properties are in good condition. The new ordinance added more to his list.
"It causes me heartburn," Sines said. "I am 73 years old, and I have a pacemaker. I don't need any more heartburn than I already have."
At Monday night's City Council meeting, a measure was approved to get rid of what the city calls troubled properties. City Attorney Kevin Baker said the ordinance would be used when illegal activity is affecting an entire community.
“This is going to be a way that the police department can take a little bit of extra effort to hold that property owner responsible too,” Baker said. “The hope is again that we will encourage property owners to take more responsibility for the property that they have and make sure illegal activity is not happening on it.”
Under the ordinance, it makes it a misdemeanor and carries a fine of up to $1,000 for landlords who do not attempt to remove illegal activity within 30 days of being notified by Charleston police.
Jennifer McQuerrey, president of West Virginia Landlords Association, is upset because she found out about the ordinance on Facebook.
"We shouldn't be finding out about stuff like this through a Facebook post," McQuerrey said. "If they are going to say this is a landlord issue, then they should have contacted them."
McQuerrey said the city never contacted property owners for input.
Baker said there was no attempt to exclude anyone.
"We always welcome input from the community, and although this passed last night, the ordinance was introduced a month ago," Baker said.