Council Tackles Never-Ending Garage Sales and Vacant Buildings

Portsmouth City Council plans to take action to stop never-ending garage sales and impose a vacant house fee.

A proposed ordinance would add a garage sale license fee and limit each household to one sale per month. Previously, the legislation imposed a two sales per calendar year limit.

Sales will be limited to three days. No sales will be permitted between November 15 and March 1. Licenses will be required for any garage, basement, patio, barn, clothesline, or yard sale.

The license fee for sales is fairly reasonable, just $10. The ordinance is scheduled for a first reading at the July 26 council meeting. It must be presented to council two more times, opened for public comment, and then voted on to pass.

Vacant Buildings

Also up for a first reading at Monday’s Portsmouth City Council Meeting is legislation to establish a vacant building enforcement program.

The new rules will regulate properties:

In the foreclosure process
Abandoned or vacant for an extended period of time.

Owners of vacant properties will be required to register with the city within 90 days of the structure becoming vacant or within 90 days of receiving notice that the structure is vacant. If the owner of property files a foreclosure against it, they must also provide a cash bond of $10,000 to the city to secure continued maintenance. They must also agree to allow the city access to the property with 48 hours’ notice.

Council said, “It has been established that structures which are left vacant for extended periods of time have been shown to breed crime, pose public safety risks, and reduce property values and the economic viability of the community in which they are found.”

Council said the goal is to reduce blight, save the City the cost of dealing with public nuisances, promote neighborhood safety, and preserve the appearance and value of the property.

Fees Will Double Yearly

Under the proposed ordinance, an emphasis will be placed on finding the owners of vacant or abandoned buildings. Efforts will be made to provide incentives for rehabilitating and finding productive uses for the structures.

Owners of vacant property must also file a vacant building plan. The plan must include a timetable for either rehabilitation, demolition, or a statement as to why the building will remain vacant and details of plans to secure. It. In most cases, the plans must be completed within a year.

There will be exemptions for estates actively attempting to sell vacant properties and properties undergoing extensive rehabilitation.

Owners of vacant industrial or commercial buildings will pay $400 for the first year a property stays vacant. That will double each year up to a maximum of $6400 yearly