Tolland Blight Ordinance the Focus of October Public Hearing

TOLLAND, CT — The public will get a crack at formally reviewing a proposed blight ordinance at the Oct. 11 Town Council meeting.

That's when the Town Council will conduct a public hearing on a draft of the ordinance at its regularly scheduled meeting. Town Council meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Hicks Municipal Center.

The draft was formulated by the local Blight Review Committee and discussed at the Sept. 13 council meeting.

According to the meeting minutes, in putting together the draft, the committee looked at the results from a public workshop, blight ordinances from other communities and photos of Tolland properties that have had complaints lodged against them.

Committee members said their goal "is not be the esthetic police." Rather, "The issues should be based on very real concerns on properties that are creating or are on the verge of creating a public safety issue."

Some of the highlights of the draft include:

• The ordinance would only apply to residential properties.
• The document contains definitions, and outlines what should not be construed as blight.
• Complaints would be filed with the Planning & Building Department. Then the Blight
• Enforcement Officer would review the complaint, and then meet with a Blight Committee. It would be up to the Blight Committee to vote on each property to determine whether it meets the definition.
• If a complaint is determined to be blight, the owner would have 60 days to begin remedies with possible extensions granted on appeal.
• Failure to conform could lead to "punitive citations."
• Provisions are included for disabled, elderly or low income residents.
• Tolland’s legal staff has reviewed the draft.

To view the draft in full, click here.

Photo Credit: Patch file photo