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Blight Still Poses Problems to Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Blight Officer James Gilleran was short and sweet in his report about Fairfield’s problem with dilapidated buildings. “It’s still here,” he said.

Gilleran, charged with enforcing Fairfield’s anti-blight laws, told the Representative Town Meeting that 15 properties were added to the list of places in need of repair in 2011. Some problems have been corrected, but 22 buildings remain on the list for different reasons.

“There’s complaints we have every day brought in or mailed into the office,” Gilleran said. “There’s plenty of blight to go around.”

The RTM passed a town ordinance to penalize property owners for not maintaining property. The blight law went into effect Jan. 1, 2005. The law defines a blighted building as “real property, including any building or structure located thereon, which is and continues to be in a state of disrepair or is becoming dilapidated.” In March 2009, the RTM added specific conditions that would qualify a building as a blight.

Some of the requirements are structural issues, such as broken or missing windows, doors, siding or walls. Longstanding fire and water damage also qualify as blight. Health issues, such as excessive garbage or signs of infestation, are also covered. Cosmetic issues are also taken into consideration, including specific mentions of abandoned parking lots and graffiti.

One condition not mentioned in the law is landscaping. The ordinance has no provisions for how high grass can grow, and to what extent owners need to manage shrubs and trees. Gilleran said that causes some frustrations for his office while dealing with the public.

“Believe it or not, the phone calls we get are all about vegetation,” Gilleran said. “We’re not the grass police.”

The process of landing on the blighted properties list is as follows: Residents who see a potential blight can submit a formal complaint to Gilleran at his Sullivan Independence Hall office. He will then make an inspection of the property to see whether there are any violations.

If Gilleran spots problems that would qualify a property as blighted under the law, he is required to send written notice to the owner. The problem then goes to a hearing at the Condemnation Board made up of Gilleran, Health Director Sands Cleary and Fire Marshal Bill Kessler. If they find that the property is in disrepair, they officially cite the property and charge a $100 per day fine until the problem is fixed.

Collecting those fines, however, has been a slow process, according to Gilleran. The town has collected about $185,000 over the six years the law has been in effect. “It should have been $500,000,” Gilleran said. He said some of the 22 outstanding properties are paying fines on a monthly plan. “It’ll take quite some times to pay off all of those fines,” he said.

The RTM set up a subcommittee Monday night to look into possible changes in the blight law. The committee has not met yet, but some ideas were discussed at the full RTM’s meeting.

Gilleran, a volunteer, suggested funding his program to pay legal fees or demolition costs. Another possible change could be a program that used collected fines to set up a fund to give financial assistance to homeowners to help them make the necessary repairs.

“Asking someone to pay $100,000 if they’re never going to have $100,000 doesn’t necessarily accomplish the goals that we want,” said First Selectman Michael Tetreau.

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