Vacant Property Ordinance Will Crack Down on Violations, Officials Say

Calling it a solution to a quality-of-life problem in neighborhoods across Cherry Hill, township officials introduced an ordinance Monday night designed to strengthen enforcement powers on vacant and abandoned properties.

Aimed at the absent owners of derelict residential properties—primarily banks—the ordinance mandates a fee-based registration for vacant homes, defined as unoccupied properties not actively on the real estate market that would need work before being reoccupied, and provides for daily penalties for property owners that don’t comply.

The township is making the move for multiple reasons, including greater accountability for vacant property owners—the ordinance requires them to provide a local contact—and to recoup some of the costs to the township, which has to spend resources cutting the grass and otherwise maintaining those properties, Mayor Chuck Cahn said.

“This is a wonderful ordinance that is long overdue this town, and will help all of our neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s time to hold these owners accountable for the burden they place on township resources and neighboring residents.”

The ordinance was driven at least in part by requests from residents around the township, officials said, who called in complaints about vacant eyesores in developments throughout Cherry Hill—complaints that were frequently the first time township officials learned properties were vacant.

“We hear a lot of resident concerns in the mayor’s office about vacant properties and what can be done,” deputy solicitor Erin Gill said. “We took a lot of time and tried to find a solution that would actually help us locate these property owners and hold them accountable.”

The ordinance levies registration fees, which start at $500 and spike to $5,000 after the second renewal. Failure to register a vacant property carries municipal court fines anywhere from $100 to $1,000 per day per violation, which officials said they hope will spur action on those properties.

“These costs will help offset the unnecessarily disproportionate costs incurred by the township in dealing with these properties, and hopefully send a message that these homes need to be made a priority,” Cahn said.

While there are around 145 properties that fit the bill in the township, officials were quick to caution they’re only targeting homes that fit the narrow definition under the ordinance—it won’t apply to occupied homes, or homes that are current on the market for sale.

“We’re not going after individual homeowners,” spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said.

The ordinance, which passed unanimously on first reading, has its public hearing and final vote on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the N. John Amato Council Chambers at the municipal building.