Washington looks to tackle empty downtown buildings

WASHINGTON - The city has decided to tackle 'vacant by choice” properties, citing a problem with buildings on the square being empty for 10 or more years.

Periodically in nuisance review meetings, City Administrator Brent Hinson said they have discussed various buildings and homes that are vacant in Washington, some well cared-for and some not.

Mayor Jaron Rosien said the city wants to use the carrot more often than the stick, meaning they want to incentivize people to make changes rather than punishing them for not.

But sometimes the stick is necessary.

Even though there are property rights, Main Street Washington Director Sarah Grunewaldt said she does not feel bad about going after propertyowners that are not investing in their buildings and letting them become a nuisance. Especially since $15 million has been invested in Main Street since 2008, she said.

'It's just going to snowball,” Grunewaldt said.

There are three downtown buildings around the core square that Hinson said have been empty by the owners' choice for 10 or more years. He said it has a negative impact on the otherwise vibrant downtown.

The Washington Public Library construction was used as an example for why a new ordinance is necessary.

'I arrived in this community right after the library had been constructed, which was a nuisance property, which had been left to crumble, and nearly took out the entire city block,” Grunewaldt said. 'Let's not let that happen again and again.”

There have been multiples cases in Washington where lack of maintenance led to building collapses, Hinson said.

Grunewaldt and Hinson said by leaving these buildings empty, businesses are being denied the opportunity to open on the square.

Looking at the issue from both City Council and Public Health perspectives, Councilwoman Danielle Pettit-Majewski said there is a benefit to having both businesses and housing downtown.

'It improves walkability, it improves the look, feel and welcoming of a downtown,” Pettit-Majewski said. She said having both businesses and residents puts more eyes on the street, improving the safety.

Right now, a few legal options that are available to the city include a dangerous building ordinance, renovation inspections and a signage ordinance.

'There is only so much we can do,” Hinson said. 'There is a limit to what the law allows us to do.”

An example ordinance the city could create is required inspections of vacant buildings. Hinson said there is only so much to see from the outside, and there may be water damage or structural issues.

Another possibility is creating a vacant properties registry, where property owners would pay a small fee and register their property as vacant by choice.

There is also an issue with vacant by choice housing, Hinson said.

In an analysis conducted in November 2019, Washington Economic Development Group found at least 37 houses in Washington that were vacant by choice.

Council members Steven Gualt, Brendan DeLong and Fran Stigers said they believe there needs to be a separation of business and residential.

'If I buy a property, and I want to leave it vacant for a while, I'm going to be very upset if the city comes in and tells me I can't do that,” DeLong said.

He continued saying he doesn't want rundown properties, but if the houses are taken care of the owner should be allows to leave it empty.

Pettit-Majewski said there is a housing shortage in Washington, and she wants to use the carrot to incentivize vacant by choice houses.

'We have people who want to move here who cannot find housing,” Pettit-Majewski said.

She used Brava Tile as an example where people drive to work from Iowa City because they can't find a place to live here.

With the OK from the City Council, Hinson, Rosien, Grunewaldt and others will research the topic for future council meetings.

'If we aren't actively trying to improve our downtown, we are complicit in letting it fall to ruin,” Pettit-Majewski said.