DCAR Advocates for Safe Neighborhoods

What’s the story?
The DC Council’s Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Committee (which handles DCRA) recently held a hearing at the Wilson Building on the bill related to posting requirements for vacant properties. The topic of the hearing centers on legislation called the “Nuisance Abatement Notice Act of 2015,” which is intended to clarify posting requirements of notices on blighted or vacant properties.

What’s the deal with vacant properties?
When the District registers a property as vacant or blighted, it must notify the owner of record and post a notice to the building. The goal is to ensure the owner receives proper notification that their property has been classified as vacant or blighted.

What’s DCAR’s position?
We attended Monday morning’s hearing and gave testimony for our positions on the bill. Primarily, we made our point to the Council that posting requirements should be satisfied by non-publicly visible signage. The intent of the law is not to notify the public at-large that there is no one occupying a property.

Sounds like a recipe for trouble…
While we understand the DC government’s necessity to notify owners of vacant or blighted property, there are better ways to handle these notifications. We believe this legislation in its current form attracts unnecessary attention to vacant properties, and the notice should only receive the recorded owner’s attention.

What is DCAR’s plan moving forward?
DCAR pledged to work with DCRA on alternative solutions which would maintain the security of the property while effectively contacting the owner of record. We will continue advocating for safe neighborhoods to the Council and make sure legislation keeps these communities in mind.