Residents will vote on Greenville property and building ordinance update

GREENVILLE — Residents will decide the fate of a proposed amendment to the Greenville Land Use Ordinance at the annual town meeting on Monday, June 2. 

The amendment, which concerns the addition of a property and building safety maintenance ordinance, was approved by the select board during a May 21 meeting.

The town meeting will start at 6 p.m. in Oakes Auditorium at the Greenville Consolidated School.

The planning board began work on the item in mid-December per the recommendation of Code Enforcement Officer Ron Sarol, Planning Board Chair John Contreni said.

“Ron suggested we have no tools in our land use ordinance for dealing with dangerous buildings or properties that have not been maintained,” Contreni said. 

“In several places in town we have buildings that young kids were sneaking into and playing and somebody’s going to get hurt at some point,” Sarol said, as neighbors let him know about what was going on.

Since then, the planning board has done considerable research and gone through several ordinance drafts before approving the document on May 7.

The planning board looked at existing ordinances in places such as Anson, Milo and Paris. Milo and Sangerville are both dealing with dangerous buildings and getting the sites cleaned up.

“It’s not something we’re dreaming up, this is a real issue that is occurring,” Contreni said. “Especially because our housing stock in Maine, as we all know, is really old.”

The planning board had heard that some first responders may be hesitant to go into such structures, and need to have the fire department come first and deem the situation safe.

Greenville Fire Chief Sawyer Murray reviewed the proposed ordinance and was pleased with it, Contreni said.

“I feel it covers the most important topics I get complaints on,” Murray wrote last month.

Dangerous unoccupied buildings, as well as nuisance buildings and concerns about the way a structure looks and smells, are the top two complaints he identified. 

“This will be a huge step forward for our community, thanks for the solid work by your team,” Murray wrote.

The ordinance clearly spells out what is dangerous, Contreni said. Criteria include being structurally unsafe, unstable or unsanitary; constituting a fire hazard; being unsuitable or improperly used for occupancy; and constituting a hazard to health or safety because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence of abandonment or being otherwise dangerous to life or property.

In order for a property to be deemed dangerous, two municipal officers must agree as such. The code enforcement officer has the discretion to work with the property owner or manager on a timeline to remediate the issues.

Violators will receive notice by certified mail explaining the nature of the violation. Corrective action will need to begin by 30 days after receiving the letter. The code enforcement officer has discretion to adjust the time limit, such as due to financial hardship or being in the middle of winter.

The 47 town meeting warrant articles were formally approved by the select board, these include both municipal and school items.