In Harvard, Illinois REALTORS® Governmental Affairs Director (GAD) Neeley Erickson worked to significantly narrow a proposed vacant building registry before its adoption.

Following Erickson’s advocacy, the final ordinance was narrowed to vacant commercial and manufacturing properties in specified zoning districts. It also exempted properties legitimately marketed for sale or lease, under a bona fide contract, or undergoing active permitted construction or rehabilitation. Plus, the final ordinance added important due-process protections that were absent from the original proposal.

But Neeley’s fight wasn’t over. When she came to City Council the night of the vote, Aldermen took notice: and the fees were substantially reduced again by the Council. The original proposal called for a $250 registration fee and a $1,000 annual renewal fee. The ordinance ultimately approved reduced those amounts to just $25 for initial registration and $50 for annual renewal.

The result was a considerably more workable policy. Erickson’s advocacy helped focus the ordinance on the properties the city was seeking to address while protecting legitimate real estate activity, strengthening due process and avoiding unreasonable costs for property owners.