Lansdale vacant property registry now on the books

A long-discussed vacancy ordinance is now on the books in Lansdale, with three different votes in late August.

Council has voted unanimously to adopt the new ordinance, the latest step in a long-running discussion on how to tackle vacant properties around town.

“There are fees associated with that foreclosure registry: it’s $300 every six months,” said borough Public Works Director Jason Van Dame.

“Of that money, the company that’s going to manage that, they will take $125 of that fee — the rest of it will be returned to the borough,” he said.

The vacancy discussion started in early 2022, then was spurred by the closures of the downtown Rite Aid and Wells Fargo branches in summer 2023, the longtime Wilson’s Hardware that closed in 2022, and the former National Auto store at Main and Wood Streets that’s been empty since 2017. The town’s code committee then took up talks on a possible vacancy tax or fee meant to spur owners of vacancies to submit plans or contact info for the property’s owner to the town or sell, and in August 2024 voted to update the borough’s codebook to add a new “downtown core” area with new development options.

Last December the code committee heard from Hera Property Registry on ways that company contacts banks and courts to track down similar property owners, and in January council voted to direct staff to work with Hera to develop a draft ordinance for further talks; in February, a first draft of the code had been written and was up for further talks, which continued as details were hammered out through this summer.

During the Sept. 17 council meeting, Code committee chairwoman Rafia Razzak presented three motions for approval: the first establishing a new subsection in borough codes requiring that unoccupied properties register with the town. Councilman Andrew Carroll asked if that code carried any costs, and Razzak said that code did not, but the next did: a new requirement that foreclosed properties register with the town and provide ownership contact info the town can use to try to spur development, or pay a penalty if they do not.

Councilwoman Carrie Oglesby asked if the fees would recur until the property is not in foreclosure, and Van Dame said they would. Councilman Mike Yetter asked if those fees are typically paid by banks, and Van Dame said they likely will be, while councilwoman Rafia Razzak said the registry is also meant to save staff time and effort by outsourcing those efforts to a company that already has relationships with such banks, and sharing that data with towns.

“They will collect all of the contact information for the bank that owns and manages the property. That will make it easier for the borough code department to manage those properties that are in foreclosure, and are not being maintained,” Van Dame said.

Councilman BJ Breish asked if there were additional penalties, and Van Dame said late fees were possible if that penalty is not paid on schedule, with liens possible if those accumulate. Oglesby asked what would happen if the owner does not register, and solicitor Patrick Hitchens said he has seen in other towns with similar codes that those outside firms have access to more sale information than the town does, and banks incorporate those fees into future sales.

“Most banks are not in the business of wanting to be a property manager, so you hope this is going to encourage them to unload the property to somebody who will actually care for it as an owner-occupant, or an owner/landlord with tenants, as opposed to a bank who is a total absentee landlord,” Hitchens said. For those who refuse to register, the attorney added, boroughs staff could issue a non-traffic citation to that owner, “and go down that route.”

After that second code update was approved, Razzak made the third motion, to approve a three-year contract with Hera to manage the program for the town. Oglesby asked who would own the data that company gathers, and Hitchens said the company would provide the data to the town, similar to the way other third-party billing companies do for other bills.

Councilman BJ Breish asked if the contract language had any wording that prevents Hera or any other company from selling the info about borough vacancies, and asked for specifics on how the contract would be renewed or terminated. Hitchens said the contract carries a 30-day warning period for either side to end the agreement, and he’d seek to clarify in an addendum about the data protection concerns.

Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15, the code committee meets at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, and the economic development committee next meets at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 20, all at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine Street. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org.

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