The Derby Board of Aldermen passed a tough new local law Thursday meant to give the city the ability to crackdown on “chronic nuisance” properties.
The law isn’t necessarily meant for that neighbor who never rakes the leaves or throws a loud party twice a year. It was born from several incidents of violence in the Hawkins Street and Hawthorne Avenue areas of the city, near Sixth Street.
Among the violence — a fatal drive-by shooting at the intersection of Hawthorne Avenue and Seventh Street.
Residents from those areas told the Aldermen last year that a large part of the problem is absentee landlords who not only fail to maintain their properties — but have no control over tenants.
As it stands, quality of life issues at a given property are handled by several parts of government. Police handle criminal activity, blight officers deal with things such as abandoned vehicles left in a yard.
The new law helps the city focus on property owners where there are a plethora of issues, said Alderman David Lenart, who first proposed the law and then crafted it with Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro, an attorney.
“It seems we have an over-abundance of absentee landlords in Derby,” Lenart said.
The law states that if the police chief (or the person he designates) receives three proven complaints within 60 days about a single property, an investigation is launched.
If police find the complaints are valid, the chief will send a letter notifying the property owner of the problems and ask he or she to address the problems.
The property owner has up to 90 days to fix the problems.
Those who continue to be a problem could face fines of $100 a day.
Fines of up to $30,000 are possible for someone who outright ignores the law and notifications from police.
Lenart said the city especially wants to address properties where police are constantly being called.
The nuisance list of the law covers criminal activity such as prostitution, assault and drug activity.
The nuisance list also includes civil issues such as junked vehicles and health code violations.
Several residents spoke in favor of the law at a public hearing Thursday, just before the Aldermen voted to approve the law.
Carol Senfield lives on the Derby Neck Library side of Hawthorne Avenue. She said the neighborhood is getting progressively worse, as residents have stopped maintaining their properties. She said she believes one of her neighbors is operating a rooming house on the road.
Minerva Street resident Virginia Russo said most of her neighbors are fine — but a handful “don’t know how to live a quiet, peaceful life,” she said.
Derby Avenue resident Frederic Picroski was generally in favor of the law, but worried that the city may use the law to take properties by eminent domain. Residents should know how to treat the community.
“It’s a shame we are legislating respect,” he said.
Ken Hughes, president of the Board of Aldermen, reminded residents that anyone can report blight or nuisance problems 24 hours a day on the Derby section of the Electronic Valley.
“We’re aware of the problems and we’re trying our best to remedy them,” Hughes said.
In addition the the new chronic nuisance law, Mayor Anthony Staffieri also has a task force addressing quality of life issues in Derby.
