GIRARD — City council voted 7-0 at their meeting Monday to increase the registration fees on vacant commercial and residential buildings to help reduce the number of unused buildings, with many located in the downtown area.

Councilman James Clark, D-2nd Ward, said the city already has a vacant building ordinance, but the amendment approved makes the ordinance a little more aggressive.

“We modeled the ordinance after one in St. Marys, Ohio, which has a vacant building ordinance. Our ordinance is for both commercial and residential buildings,” Clark said.

Officials said all building owners must register with the city’s zoning department each year, but the new ordinance doubles the registration fee of a building each year that it is found to be vacant. Clark said the residential fee structure is less than the ones on commercial properties.

For residential, the fee schedule is $250 the first year, $500 the second year, $1,000 the third year, $2,000 the fourth year and $4,000 the fifth year with the cap at $4,000 per property.

For commercial, the fee schedule is $400 the first year, $800 the second year, $1,600 the third year, $3,200 the fourth year, and $6,400 the fifth year with the cap at $6,400 per property.,

Clark said there is an incentive that if someone gets a vacant property back up to city standards and has it occupied, the previous year’s registration fee would be reimbursed.

There is also a building improvement plan that needs to be submitted to the city to show that the owner of the property has plans for the building.

Clark said the first step is identifying the vacant structures in the city and giving the property owners 90 days to register. The new ordinance will go into effect in 30 days, which will be early April.

Councilman Tod Latell, D-at Large, said through researching the status of buildings in the city, he learned there are 112 storefronts, with 30 that are vacant and four available for lease or purchase.

“We have more storefronts than most communities. We want to see some movement downtown with these storefronts,” Latell said.

Latell said he wants to make sure that the fee increases do not deter any new business from locating in the city.

“We want to bring business to the city and get the city moving in the right direction,” he said.

Clark said if there are concerns from businesses coming in about the fees, an appeals process can be established.

He said any owner of a vacant building who wants to sell their property needs to pay any outstanding registration fees. Clark said he decided to introduce the legislation as a proactive approach to vacant buildings that become unsightly and safety hazards.

City officials said they can often identify vacant buildings through utility bills, high grass notices or if the property looks unkept. Officials said they will look into reducing vacant buildings in the community by requiring landlords to register each new tenant they sign.

In other business, Safety Service Director Mark Ragozine said the city received $56,000 from the Ohio Department of Transportation Specialized Transportation Program for a new transit van for the city. He said the funds are scheduled to be released this summer.

Ragozone said an agreement has been reached with Girard Municipal Court that the current van will be given to the court.

“The new van will be used solely for senior transit services,” he said.