An ordinance was approved to implement the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, and the next step is for Uhrichsville administration to create an appeals board.
As part of the requirements, citizens receiving a notice must have the option to appeal. Members of that board must have some knowledge about housing and buildings but cannot be current city employees. If they choose to do so, the city can legally pay the members once appointed.
Law Director Jeff Merklin says the IPMC will enable to city to have more efficiency.
“The way the old law reads it’s a clunky fourteen step process This makes it much more streamlined and plus it’s what Justin [Edwards] has been working on, from what I understand, for the last few years.
Merklin emphasizes the need to have the updated law on the books and to comply with any stipulations.
“There’s probably about fifteen or twenty cases I’ve found where cities have been sued for wrongful demolition or cities have been sued because they didn’t go through their code enforcement mechanism appropriate. Not something I’m just making up just to be difficult. Not even open for debate because if you don’t do if right there’s not going to be enforcement.”
This new ordinance replaces three other laws dealing with structures, fences, vehicles, and other items. Legislation from 2020 adopted use of the IPMC but limited the compliance with the 2009 version.
“We need to have a set of laws on the books that don’t conflict with each other and that Justin [Edwards] and Terry [McFerren] think that they’d be able to do their job with this.”
Additionally, Merklin says being accountable to the latest IPMC will help protect the city, the code enforcement office, and fire chief from any possible litigation, providing all work is done according to code standards
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2025