DEMOLITION OF VACANT BUILDINGS
House Bill 5678
Sponsor: Rep. Paul N. DeWeese
Committee: Land Use and Environment
Complete to 4-22-02
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5678 AS INTRODUCED 2-19-02
The Housing Law of Michigan regulates the process by which municipal government may demolish abandoned or vacant buildings. Currently, a building cannot be removed unless the cost of repair of the building will be greater than its state equalized value.
House Bill 5678 would amend the housing law to create an exemption to this requirement. Under the bill, an urban core city that has adopted a stricter standard to expedite the rehabilitation or removal of a boarded or abandoned building or structure could remove such a building or structure that had remained either vacant or boarded, or both, and for which a significant attempt had not been made to rehabilitate it for a period of 24 consecutive months. "Urban core cities" would mean qualified local governmental units as that term is defined in Section 2 of the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act, MCL 125.2782.
(Note: The term "qualified local governmental unit" is used in the various brownfield statutes and as defined in the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act applies to a city with a median family income of 150 percent or less of the statewide median family income as of the 1990 decennial federal census that meets one or more of the following conditions: a) contains an eligible distressed area under the Michigan State Housing Development Authority Act; b) is contiguous to a city with a population of 500,000 or more; c) has a population of 10,000 or more and is located outside of an urbanized area; d) is the central city of a metropolitan area designated by the United States Bureau of the Census; and e) has a population of 100,000 or more within a county with a population of 2 million or more as of the 1990 census. It also applies to a township with a median family income of 150 percent or less of the statewide median family income that is either 1) contiguous to a city with a population of 500,000 or 2) that has a population of more than 10,000 and contains an eligible distressed area. Further, the definition applies to: a city with a population of more than 20,000 or less than 5,000 located in a county with a population of 2 million or more that as of January 1, 2000 had an overall increase in state equalized valuation of real and personal property of less than 65 percent of the statewide average increase since 1972 (as determined for the designation of eligible distressed areas under the State Housing Development Authority Act); and a village with a population of 500 or more as of the 1990 census located in an area designated as a rural enterprise community before 1998 under Title XIII of the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.)
MCL 125.534
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.