2026 Budget Recommendation / R8 / Building and Safety / Resources for Vacant Building Issues / Analysis on Update to Fines or Fees / Cost Recovery
Council File 26-0600-S30
Under review — the City is studying whether fines and fees for vacant buildings are high enough to cover enforcement costs and discourage owners from letting properties sit empty. The Planning Committee is still examining the proposal.
Brief
This 2026 budget motion asks the Department of Building and Safety to study the adequacy of current fines and fees imposed on vacant properties and recommend whether adjustments are needed to recover costs associated with enforcement and oversight. The motion was introduced by Council on June 24, 2026, and referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee on July 7, 2026, where it remains pending.
Full summary
This budget-related motion directs the City to examine the financial mechanisms used to enforce vacant building regulations and ensure the City is adequately compensated for the resources spent managing problem properties. Specifically, Council asked Building and Safety to analyze the current fine and fee structure applied to vacant buildings—structures that sit unused and often deteriorate, attracting blight, crime, and neighborhood complaints. The analysis is intended to determine whether existing penalties and cost-recovery charges are sufficient or whether they should be adjusted upward to better reflect the actual costs of inspections, enforcement actions, and administrative oversight. The motion reflects a broader concern that when property owners face minimal financial consequences for allowing buildings to remain vacant, the incentive to bring them back into productive use or maintain them properly diminishes. By tying fines and fees more closely to the City's actual enforcement costs, the intent is to create both stronger disincentives to neglect and a more sustainable funding model for Building and Safety's vacant building program. Introduced by Council on June 24, 2026, as part of the 2026 budget cycle, the file was referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee on July 7, 2026. It remains pending in that committee and has not yet been scheduled for a hearing or vote. The analysis itself is the first step; any resulting fee or fine changes would likely require separate ordinance action by Council.
Activity (1)
- 2026-07-07 Council document(s) referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
Documents (1)
- 2026-06-24 Budget Recommendation · other