By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE — An ordinance restricting abandoned structures still is causing controversy among real estate agents and residents.
The ordinance, passed April 4, places a registration fee of $150 on abandoned houses and levies fines of $500 for owners who fail to register them.
Representatives from the Down River Association of Realtors addressed the council then to request that pending sales be exempt from the ordinance, saying the added fees could jeopardize those sales.
Monday, the City Council accepted a list from the association of 44 properties on which sales are pending, adding that those properties will be exempt from the ordinance for 60 days after the ordinance’s effective date of April 19.
But the 60-day period could exclude some short sales, DRAR President-elect Jerry Bobbitt said. He asked that the council remove the 60-day time limit in favor of excluding all 44 homes on the list provided by the association.
“The only reason we don’t want to put a date in there is that sometimes they do take 70 days, 80 days, 90 days, unfortunately,” Bobbitt said. “But we’re not asking you to include any other ones, just the ones that are on that list.”
Councilman Todd Browning, who frequently has brought up the large number of abandoned houses in the city, said he would not support a resolution that did not include a timeline.
“I’m one that likes to have dates on there so we don’t have things hanging out forever,” he said.
Councilman Lawrence Stec agreed, saying he would support an amendment requiring the council to submit an update of the homes on the current list every 10 days to keep the council notified of their progress in the closing process.
“I’m hesitant to leave this open ended,” he said. “We’ve been down that street before where we didn’t cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s, and it came back to bite us, so I’m really hesitant.”
Councilman Leonard Sabuda suggested 90 days would give the short-sale properties more time to close.
Browning responded, saying a 90-day extension would allow some houses to sit unattended until July, and lawns could grow out of control.
He also pointed out that some of the properties on the list are not vacant and others have closed in the days since the list was printed, meaning they would be excluded from the ordinance. Three of the pending properties are being purchased by the city.
The council passed the resolution with the 60-day timeline.
The list provided by DRAR also brought some criticism from audience members. Resident Richard Miller presented a point of order to the council asking Councilwoman Sherri Sutherby Fricke, who acted as chairwoman at the meeting, to abstain from presenting or discussing the agenda item, as she is a real estate agent and a member of that organization.
Steven Makowski, who sat in for City Attorney William Look for a portion of the meeting, said Fricke’s participation in presenting the agenda item was not a conflict of interest, as she does not represent any of the houses on the list.
“The fact is, we’re giving her group something that they want, and she’s pushing this … so there is something she’s doing for her fellow members,” Miller said. “We want to do this ethically so people know that ethical standards are first and foremost in the city of Wyandotte.”
Browning said that by the time the resolution takes effect, Fricke may be representing a property that could be affected by the ordinance.
Fricke said she will exempt any properties she shows from inclusion on the list.
“I do not have a vested interest in anything,” she said. “I do not have any pendings at this time on that list, and I will be certain that any properties I have availability of even up to the 19th will not be included on that list.”