Ames Exterior Property Maintenance Code Workshop On June 15, Online Comment Option

Press release from the City of Ames:

June 4, 2021

The Ames City Council will listen to the public input regarding proposed exterior property maintenance standards at a workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15 in the City Hall City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Ave. For those unable to attend, an online opportunity to provide feedback, along with details about the proposed ordinance, is available at www.CityOfAmes.org/PropertyMaintenanceCode

More than a decade ago, the City of Ames established standards applied to the exterior condition of rental housing in Chapter 13 of the Ames Municipal Code entitled "Rental Housing." However, these ordinances do not apply to owner-occupied residential, industrial, and commercial properties. The lack of standards has caused frustration on the part of property owners who feel the value of their neighborhood is being diminished because certain conditions continue. Additionally, rental property owners believe owner-occupied units should be held to the same exterior maintenance standards.

“It should be noted that current code enforcement is complaint-driven, and that’s how the proposed ordinance would be administered,” said Building Official Sara Van Meeteren. “The Inspections team would not go out looking for violations, but we would investigate if a violation were brought to our attention.”

The Ames City Council requested that staff develop specific standards addressing the most frequent complaints. These issues, along with proposed standards, were presented to the City Council on May 25, 2021. Prior to making a final decision whether to adopt any, or all, of these property maintenance standards for owner-occupied residential, industrial, and commercial properties, the Ames City Council is seeking public comments.

Some standards in the proposed ordinance would address the maximum height of grass allowed on a property, require that vacant buildings be secured, require the removal of trees deemed dangerous, and prohibit junk, garbage or yard waste from being stored on premises for more than 48 hours. Also suggested in a new ordinance would be the establishment of a Property Maintenance Appeals Board to allow the property owner to challenge the staff’s opinion that a violation exists or grant additional time to abate the violation.

Comments received online will be forwarded to the Ames City Council.

This press release was produced by the City of Ames. The views expressed here are the author’s own.