[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Oil City 6-9-2008 by Ord. No. 2752; amended in its entirety 5-3-2010 by Ord. No. 2779. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administrative Code — See Ch. 4.
Redevelopment Authority — See Ch. 11, Art. I.
Abandoned or vacant property — See Ch. 80.
Property Maintenance Code — See Ch. 238, Art. I.
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a Blighted Property Review Committee which shall work with the City of Oil City Code Enforcement Office (Code Office), to officially designate City properties as blighted and to implement the provisions of Section 1712.1 of the Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945, as amended. The Blighted Property Review Committee shall be known and hereinafter referred to as the "Committee."
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
A. 
The Committee shall consist of seven members, holding four-year terms, consisting of the following:
(1) 
One member of City Council, appointed by Council.
(2) 
One member of the Oil City Redevelopment Authority, appointed by the Authority.
(3) 
One member of the Planning Commission, appointed by the Commission.
(4) 
One representative of the executive branch of the City, appointed by the City Manager.
(5) 
The Oil City Fire Chief or a representative of the Department as recommended.
(6) 
Two residents of the City to serve at large, appointed by City Council.
B. 
The Committee shall initially be constituted of two members serving a four-year term, two members serving a three-year term, two members serving a two-year term and one member serving a one-year term. Any vacancy on the Committee shall be filled for the unexpired term by the respective appointing agency or individual as noted above. Committee members that miss more than three consecutive meetings may be subject to removal from the Committee by a majority vote of the remaining members.
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
The Committee shall meet every other month in Council Chambers, City Hall, 21 Seneca Street, Oil City, Pennsylvania. The Committee shall establish its meeting day and time at its initial meeting and cause the same to be advertised in accordance with any laws or regulations members of the Committee to be present to transact official business.
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
A. 
Procedure; notice of determination.
(1) 
At its regular meeting, the Committee shall consider such properties identified and submitted by the City's Code Office as appearing to be in a blighted condition. Prior to its regular meeting, the Committee shall request from the City's Code Office a list of properties that appear to be in a blighted condition. The Committee shall review and consider pertinent information about the property, including, but not limited to, matters related to general structural conditions, foundation, roofing, drainage, exterior walls, windows, doors, chimneys and porches. In addition to this information, the Committee shall also review and consider the blighting conditions designated in § 15-5 that appear to apply to each potentially blighted property. The Committee shall then inspect each property individually to ascertain whether or not the property meets one or more of the blighting conditions designated in § 15-5.
(2) 
The Committee shall then designate each property that meets any of the criteria as "blighted" and shall prepare a written notice of determination of blight.
The written notice shall:
(a) 
Detail the reasons for such determination;
(b) 
Notify and direct the owner to either eliminate the blight or develop and submit to the Committee and the Code Office a written plan to eliminate the blight, within 30 days of being served with the notice;
(c) 
Inform the owner that failure to eliminate or abate the blighting conditions may render the property subject to condemnation; and
(d) 
Notify the owner of the right to appeal a determination of blight and the time, place and manner of perfecting an appeal.
(3) 
Nothing in the above language shall restrict the Code Office, subject to the prior written approval of the City Manager, from granting any additional time that might be necessary to eliminate the blight or to develop a plan for its elimination, if the owner or his agent has made an order.
(4) 
The notice of determination of blight by the Committee shall be served by the following methods:
(a) 
Service by certified mall and first class mail at the last known address of the said owner; and
(b) 
Posting the notice upon the premises that have been determined blighted, record of said posting being made by photograph.
B. 
Appeal.
(1) 
Any owner or person who is aggrieved by determination of the Committee that his or her property has been determined to be blighted for the reasons set forth in § 15-5 above, may appeal the decision as hereinafter stated. The appeal shall be in the form prescribed by the City and shall state the specific reasons for appeal.
(2) 
The appeal shall be addressed to the City's ICC Appeals Board in writing within 30 days of the date of the receipt of the determination of the Committee by said owner or his agent and shall be filed at the Oil City Code Office, 21 Seneca Street, Oil City, Pennsylvania. A copy of the appeal shall also be forwarded by the Code Office to the Blighted Properties Review Committee for its records.
(3) 
The required fee for each appeal shall be $500 which shall be payable to the City of Oil City and must accompany the appeal.
The Committee, with the assistance of the Code Office, may only designate a property as blighted if one or more of the following conditions exist:
A. 
Any premises which, because of physical condition or use, is regarded as a public nuisance at common law or has been declared a public nuisance in accordance with the local housing, building, plumbing, fire and related codes.
B. 
Any premises which, because of physical condition, use or occupancy, is considered an attractive nuisance to children, including but not limited to abandoned wells, shafts, basements, excavations and unsafe fences or structures.
C. 
Any dwelling which, because it is dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, vermin-infested or lacking in the facilities and equipment required by the City's Property Maintenance Code, has been designated by a City Code Official of the City as unfit for human habitation.
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
D. 
Any structure which is a fire hazard or is otherwise dangerous to the safety of persons or property.
E. 
Any structure from which the utilities, plumbing, heating, sewage or other facilities have been disconnected, destroyed, removed or rendered ineffective so that the property is unfit for its intended use.
F. 
Any vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground in a predominantly built-up neighborhood which, by reason of neglect or lack of maintenance, has become a place for accumulation of trash and debris or a haven for rodents and other vermin.
G. 
Any unoccupied property which has been tax delinquent for a period of two years according to the latest records of the Venango County Tax Claims Bureau.
H. 
Any property which is vacant, but not tax delinquent, which has not been rehabilitated within one year of the receipt of a notice of violation by the Code Official.
I. 
Any abandoned property. A property shall be considered abandoned if:
(1) 
It is a vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground on which a municipal lien for the cost of demolition of any structure previously located on the property remains unpaid for a period of six months; or
(2) 
It is a vacant property or vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground on which the total of municipal liens on the property for tax or any other type of claims of the municipality are in excess of 150% of the fair market value of the property, as established by the Venango County Assessment Office or other body with legal authority to determine the taxable value of the property; or
(3) 
The property has been declared abandoned by the owner, including an estate that is in possession of the property.
J. 
Any property which has defective or unusual conditions of title or no known owners rendering the title unmarketable.
K. 
Any property which has environmentally hazardous conditions, solid waste pollution or contamination in a building or on the land which poses a direct and immediate threat to the health, safety and welfare of the community.
L. 
Any property that has three or more of the following characteristics:
(1) 
Has unsafe or hazardous conditions that do not meet current use, occupancy or fire codes;
(2) 
Has unsafe external and internal accessways;
(3) 
Is being served by an unsafe public street or right-of-way;
(4) 
Violates the applicable property maintenance code adopted by the municipality and is an immediate threat to public health and safety;
(5) 
Is vacant; or
(6) 
Is located in a redevelopment area with a density of a least 1,000 people per square mile or a redevelopment area where more than 90% of the units of property are nonresidential, or in a municipality with a density of at least 2,500 people per square mile.
A. 
Certification. The Committee, with the concurrence of the Oil City Planning Commission, upon making a determination that any property is blighted within the terms of this chapter and the Urban Redevelopment Law, as amended, may certify said blighted property to the Oil City Redevelopment Authority. Such certification may be made, except that:
[Amended 1-22-2015 by Ord. No. 2836]
(1) 
No property shall be certified to the Authority unless it is vacant. A property shall be considered vacant if:
(a) 
The property is unoccupied or its occupancy has not been authorized by the owner of the property;
(b) 
In the case of an unimproved lot or parcel of ground, a lien for the cost of demolition of any structure previously located on the property remains unpaid for a period of six months; or
(c) 
In the case of an unimproved lot or parcel of ground, the property has remained in violation of any provision of local building, property maintenance or related codes applicable to such lots or parcels, including licensing requirements, for a period of six months.
(2) 
No property shall be certified to the Authority unless the owner of the property or an agent designated by him for receipt of service of notices within the municipality has been served with notice of the determination that the property is blighted, together with an appropriate order to eliminate the conditions causing the blight and notification that failure to do so may render the property subject to condemnation under the Urban Redevelopment Law, as amended. The notice shall be served upon the owner or his agent in accord with this subsection pertaining to service of notice of determination of blight. The owner or his agent shall have the right of appeal from the determination as per the requirements established in this subsection.
(3) 
No blighted property shall be certified to the Authority until the time period for appeal of all orders from the Code Office has expired and no appeal has been taken, or if taken, the appeal(s) has been disposed of, and the owner or his agent has failed to comply with the order(s) from the Code Office.
B. 
Blighted property removal.
(1) 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the Authority shall have the power to acquire by purchase, gift, bequest, eminent domain or otherwise any blighted property as defined herein, either within or outside of a certified redevelopment area and, further, shall have the power to hold, clear, manage and/or dispose of said property for residential or related uses and commercial, industrial or institutional reuse, as provided by law. This power shall be exercised in accordance with the procedure set forth hereinafter.
(2) 
Residential and related use shall include residential property for sale or rent and related uses, including but not limited to park and recreation areas, neighborhood community service and neighborhood parking lots.
C. 
Notice of determination. The service of the Notice of Determination of Blight by the Authority shall be accomplished, at a minimum, through one of the methods listed below. The notice shall detail the reasons for such determination, shall order that the blighting conditions be eliminated within a certain time frame, and shall notify the owner that failure to eliminate or abate the blighting conditions may render the property subject to condemnation. Service of the notice shall be by one of the following methods:
(1) 
Service by certified mail and first class mail at the last known address of the said owner; or
(2) 
Posting of said notice upon the premises that have been determined blighted, record of said posting being made by photograph.
D. 
Appeal of determination of blight.
(1) 
Any owner or person who is aggrieved by a ruling of the Authority that his property has been determined to be blighted for the reasons set forth in § 15-5 above may appeal the decision as hereinafter stated. The appeal shall be in the form prescribed by the City and shall state the specific reasons for appeal.
(2) 
The appeal must be filed with the City's ICC Appeals Board in writing within 30 days of the date of the receipt of the determination of blight by said owner or his agent. Appeals shall be filed at the Oil City Code Office, 21 Seneca Street, Oil City, Pennsylvania. A copy of the appeal shall also be forwarded by the Code Office to the Blighted Properties Review Committee for its records.
(3) 
The required fee for each appeal shall be $150, which shall be payable to the City of Oil City and must accompany the appeal.
E. 
Reuse of acquired property.
(1) 
Acquisition and disposition of blighted property under this chapter shall not require preparation, adoption or approval of a redevelopment area plan or redevelopment proposal but, at least 30 days prior to acquisition of any property, the Authority shall transmit identification of the property to the City Planning Commission and shall request a recommendation as to the appropriate reuse of the property. The Authority shall not acquire the property when the Planning Commission certifies that disposition for residential or related uses or commercial, industrial or institutional reuse would not be in accordance with the City's Comprehensive Plan.
(2) 
Property disposed of within a redevelopment area shall be disposed of under a redevelopment contract in accordance with the provisions of the Urban Redevelopment Act, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 35 P.S. § 1701 et seq.
(3) 
Property disposed of outside of an urban renewal project area shall be disposed of by deed in accordance with the provisions set forth in applicable law.
The Blighted Property Review Committee may, at its own discretion, conduct the following other functions:
A. 
The Committee may advise the Authority in matters relating to the establishment and modification of policies, priorities and procedures affecting the disposition of properties acquired through the certification process of the Committee.
B. 
The Committee may advise the City's Community Development Department in matters relating to the provision of financial, advisory and technical rehabilitation assistance affecting reinvestment in properties acquired through the certification process of the Committee.
C. 
The Committee may advise other municipal agencies in matters relating to the functions of said agencies affecting the acquisition, disposition and reinvestment in properties which have been or may be acquired through the certification process of the Committee.
D. 
The Committee may advise other appropriate agencies in matters relating to the disposition of publicly owned properties in the City of Oil City.
E. 
The Committee may advise appropriate agencies in the design, development and implementation of homesteading and other property reinvestment programs which may, from time to time, be effectuated in the City of Oil City by such agencies.
F. 
The Committee may also perform such other acts, including, but not limited to, the promulgation and implementation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to fulfill the duties, obligations and administration of the provisions of the Urban Redevelopment Law, as amended, and this chapter.