City of Nelson adopts Vacant Property Registration Program

On March 14, the Nelson City Council passed Ordinance No. 880 to adopt a Vacant Property Registry Program for the City of Nelson. The ordinance covers all properties within the city’s corporate boundary. Under the Program, all properties meeting the criteria of a vacant property will be registered on the city’s Vacant Property Registry.

The ordinance provides a definition of vacancy and lists three types of properties that will be eligible to receive exemptions. Those exemptions include: 1) properties advertised for sale in good faith 2) seasonal properties and 3) properties owned by units of government. Owners of properties that are for sale will be required to meet certain criteria to demonstrate that the property is for sale in good faith. The program only applies to vacant structures, not vacant lots.

Under the ordinance, properties that are vacant for six months or more will be entered onto the city’s Vacant Property Registry. Once a property has remained on the registry for 180 days, a fee of $250 will be assessed for residential properties and $1,000 for commercial properties. A fee will be due for every 180 days the property remains on the registry. The fee will also be increased for every 180 days that the property remains on the registry.

Bobbi Pettit, and Jessica Vanden Berge of Five Rule Rural Planning have been appointed by the City of Nelson to serve as the program administrator. Tasks performed by Five Rule on behalf of the city will include: notifying property owners about the program and their requirement to register their property; maintaining a database of all properties on the registry; tracking the occupancy status of properties; and reporting regularly to the city council the status of the registry. Kent Rauert, and Jon Thompson, of Svehla Law in York have also engaged with the city to provide legal support as needed to support the program.

In the Spring of 2018, the Nebraska Legislature passed Legislative Bill 256, enabling municipalities to pass a vacant property registry ordinance and establish a local program. The purpose of the bill was to assist local governments with addressing properties that remain vacant for prolonged periods of time (180 days to 30+ years).