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SALEM -- Councilman Sal Salvino said he's ready to move forward on legislation to tackle blight in Salem.
Law Director Brooke Zellers, though, said any ordinance council forwards needs a solid definition of what blight is, something that's not subjective, if they want it to hold up in court.
He also advised to stay away from any wording related to aesthetics when it comes to how a neighbor's property is affecting others.
"Saying his ugly house hurts my property values isn't sufficient," Zellers said. "We gotta be careful."
He said the condition of a property has to impact the health, safety and welfare of other citizens.
No action was taken during the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday night. Salvino, who's been spearheading the discussions on blight, said the next step will be coming up with a solid definition of blight and also checking with other communities on whether their ordinances on blight have been challenged.
During his presentation, Salvino said the city has a really good housing code, addressing many concerns regarding housing issues, but the term blight is not included. He found that neighboring communities had legislation showing that blight has a negative impact on property values, diminishing those values.
He noted that "introducing 'blighting influences' into legislation will: allow Salem to grow; sets neighborhood standards and gives everyone a fair shake in the accountability process; it gives property owners a chance to receive full market value on their homes if neighbors are being held to stricter standards."
Salvino showed a few examples from other communities, such as Shaker Heights, Canfield, Eastlake and Columbiana. All specifically mentioned the affect on property values and prohibited permitting any condition on a property that "deteriorates or debases the appearance of the neighborhood."
He also shared copies of junk yard ordinances from Poland, Waynesfield, Delaware and Vermillion Township prohibiting junk yards, junk and junk vehicles
In his presentation, Salvino concluded that other cities have adopted junk yard ordinances and he was prepared to move forward to implement a junk yard ordinance to fit the needs of Salem.
Zellers said junk yards are already not allowed anywhere in the city.
As for the blight, he said the best policy would be to find ways to help people improve their properties, saying not everybody has the money to paint their house or do other improvements.
"We live in a community that's not like Canfield or Poland or Eastlake," he said. "We gotta be careful comparing ourselves to them."
If a guy is fined for not painting his house because he can't afford it, he's not going to have the money to paint the house or pay the fine.
Salvino said he doesn't want to be the bad guy and dictator. If the standard is set low, he said the results will be low.
"Blight has become an issue in our city to where we need to regain that standard of excellence," he said.
Councilman Andrew Null said there's a good framework there, but he was concerned about the wording related to the general care of a neighborhood, saying "it seems really wide open."
When asked about possible consequences, Zellers said if an ordinance related to blight got challenged, the city could get sued, the law could get thrown out and there could be a potential for damages.
mgreier@salemnews.net