Associated Press
ATLANTA — Two metro Atlanta counties and several area municipalities have begun requiring owners of vacant properties to register and pay a fee.
Local governments said the registries are intended to deal with the collapsed housing market by locating the person or financial institution responsible for an abandoned structure. They said owners can then be required to fix shattered windows or mow the grass.
Fulton and DeKalb counties and the cities of Loganville, Riverdale and Powder Springs already have enacted ordinances. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Gwinnett County and Lawrenceville are considering similar legislation.
"We feel it's a detriment to our city," Mayor Ray Nunley of Loganville said. In January, Loganville city leaders adopted an ordinance requiring owners of vacant structures to register their properties with the city and pay a $100 annual fee.
Vacant properties are breeding grounds for crime, accidents and fires, and lower property values, other officials said.
"I think every local government's preference would be that those properties not be vacant," said Amy Henderson, spokeswoman for the Georgia Municipal Association. "Vacant properties affect the quality of life in your community and property values of surrounding properties, so cities obviously want to prevent or mitigate some of that."
DeKalb County's ordinance, approved in July, requires creditors to register foreclosed properties with the county and pay a $175 fee. The registry applies only to properties foreclosed on or after Oct. 27.
Violators face a $1,000-a-day fine. The fines, along with the $175 fee, are used to hire more code enforcement officers.
Not everyone agrees the fees are a good idea.
"It's a sign of desperation," Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said. "It basically says we can't fix the problem, so we're going to live with it and try to make some money off it. That's socialism right there."
