St. Louis, Missouri (First Alert 4) – A proposal on the November ballot would lift a decades-old cap on city fines for property violations and allow the City Council to set new penalties.

Councilwoman Daniela Velazquez, who introduced the bill, said it would allow the city to pass laws that hold negligent property owners accountable, particularly companies that own large tracts of deteriorating housing in St. Louis neighborhoods.

“The board would still have to create a different fine and fee schedule, but we would not be able to do that until we change the bylaws,” she explained.

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The current $500 cap was introduced in the 1970s. Velazquez and many local advocates have pointed out that many property owners simply let the fines pile up over time rather than make costly repairs.

“We’ve seen time and time again that out-of-state owners and businesses are writing the $500 down as a business expense,” Velazquez said.

Among the supporters of the law is the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative, which is working to address the problem of abandoned properties and the problems often associated with them.

Torrey Park, director of the Vacancy Collaborative, said she believes higher fines could be a useful tool to deter owners from allowing their properties to deteriorate.

“We need better tools to get their attention,” Park said. “We’ve had opportunities to use the carrot before, but this is more of a stick.”

The Tower Grove Community Development Corporation also supports the measure. Sean Spencer, the organization’s director, said the measure would also allow St. Louis to follow the example of other cities and introduce heavy fines for unsecured buildings.

“We can take the best practices from around the country and bring them to St. Louis to implement them there,” he said.

The bill passed without Mayor Tishaura Jones’ signature. Jones told FirstAlert 4 that she believes the city needs to do more outreach to neighborhoods before passing the bill.

“This went to the board for a vote and I believe more public participation would be necessary,” she explained.

Velazquez said the law’s intent is not to target ordinary homeowners in St. Louis, but rather it could be a tool to target companies that own dozens or hundreds of problem properties.

“It gives us the opportunity to take action against these bad actors,” she said. “We want to make St. Louis a place where people feel safe in their own homes.”

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