Vacant structure plan in Glenville draws fire

Thurssday, May 6, 2010
by Michael Goot
Daily Gazette

GLENVILLE — Residents on Wednesday panned the town’s proposed vacant building registry law, saying it would penalize homeowners unable to sell their property and do nothing to attract commercial businesses.

The Town Board held a public hearing on the law, which would require owners of vacant buildings to register with the town and pay an annual fee. The fee would vary depending on whether the structure was residential or commercial.

Michele Draves said her parents’ home is still vacant. The couple, Ralph and Mary Fazio, died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator in their home during the December 2008 ice storm.

“In this economy, a house can sit on the market for over a year and not be sold,” Draves said.

The property is maintained and the lawn mowed, yet she would still be penalized under this law. “If I was living there and let the lawn get 3 feet high, it’s OK.”

Ron Provost, who has lived in town for 54 years, called the law “garbage.”

“You’re trying to grab a couple of nickels here,” he said. “This is crap. Somebody better go back to the drawing board or I’ll see you in court.”

Edward Rosenberg of Gage Realty, who was formerly on the Town Board, questioned the law.

“I haven’t heard one thing about how this will bring business to Glenville,” he said.

Supervisor Chris Koetzle said the town is merely trying to address blight and send a message that it will not be filled with vacant buildings. There are currently 23 vacant commercial properties. He stressed that the law would apply only to unsecured properties.

“We’ve got a problem in this town,” he said. “There’s no question about it. We’ve got too much empty space in our commercial corridors.”

Koetzle said the town has done its homework. At least two dozen communities in New York state have this law including Albany, Cohoes and Watervliet. He left open the possibility that the board would tweak the ordinance at its next work session, possibly adding some sort of hardship exemption.

“The intent is not to give residents a hard time.”

In other business, the town passed a resolution prohibiting smoking in Maalwyck or Indian Meadows parks.

Councilman Mark Quinn said this change came at the request of the Capital District Tobacco Free Coalition, which is going to pay for signs in the park.

The board also approved establishing a small claims settlement board. This would allow claims of $500 or less to be settled by a board consisting of the town attorney, comptroller and director of operations.

Also, the board agreed to return a $5,000 contribution from the Glenville Rotary that had been earmarked for construction of a skateboard park. Town officials have no plans to go forward with such a project. Director of Operations James MacFarland said the project was cost prohibitive.