By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Residents in the town of Van Buren sounded off on the town’s proposal to tighten property maintenance codes in a public hearing held Sept. 1.
According to Deputy Supervisor Mary Frances Sabin, the town has received 25 letters on the topic: 13 in favor of the stricter code and 12 opposed to it.
Sabin said the town’s goal is to clarify a homeowner’s responsibilities when it comes to keeping their yards free of debris, trash and junk vehicles.
“One of the big complaints from residents was we cannot show them in explicit detail exactly what they’re being cited for. New York State says you have to have a clean, safe and sanitary property,” Sabin said.
Nine residents spoke in favor of the proposal and 12 spoke against it at the hearing. Most of the residents who weighed in appeared via Zoom because of COVID-19 attendance restrictions, but a few attended the meeting in person.
Resident Mary Sullivan said she has spent years taking care of her property and paying it off.
“To see people that are not taking care of their homes and are bringing down the value of my own house and our neighborhood and especially our community … I think it’s very important that we do something just so I can feel like I don’t have to be embarrassed of where I live,” she said, adding that she supports the proposed law.
Via Zoom, resident Paul Dreher-Wiberg said he is favor of this law.
“We have a couple of neighbors … that are basically junkyards,” he said. “We have made several efforts in the past to ask folks in the town to try to do something about it and there seemed to be no basis on which they could act, so I am hoping that if this law passes, something can be done to elicit the offending neighbors to clean up their property. It’s not just an aesthetic eyesore, but I’m sure it has quite a severe detrimental effect on property value.”
Resident Peter Wilder expressed his opposition to the proposal via Zoom. Wilder said he found some of the definitions vague or subjective. He cited the town’s definition of poison ivy as a noxious plant; he said it is a native plant that is a food source for the threatened bobwhite quail. He said the law could be used by residents to target each other with code enforcement complaints.
“This type of overreach is completely not necessary,” he said.
Wilder said Van Buren’s proposed law contains provisions identical to codes in Clay and Manlius, which provide brush pickup for their residents. Van Buren does not.
Resident Lee Tetu said the law would sow discord among neighbors and infringes on the rights of property owners.
“I do not see due process, I do not see appeal capability; the law itself is way too broad. … You also don’t have the right to face your accuser,” said resident Lee Tetu. “We moved to Van Buren because we liked the values. … We liked the more rural, independent [character]. If I wanted covenants, I could move to another community.”
Resident Scott Johnson said the proposal does not give residents enough time to correct potential violations, and Thomas Rasbeck said the town should consider tabling the issue until after the pandemic because people are facing hardships that might interfere with their ability to maintain their property.
Councilor Pat Dickman, who has been a real estate agent for more than 30 years, said curb appeal is important to home buyers and eyesore properties do lower property values.
Councilor Wendy Van Der Water said the town should be able to step in if junk on a property poses a health hazard, but the government should not infringe on homeowners’ freedoms.
Councilor Howard Tupper said when people flout the law, their neighbors’ property values suffer.
The public hearing remains open until the Sept. 15 town board meeting. Send your comments on the property maintenance proposal by email to [email protected]; by mail to Town Clerk Lynn Precourt, Town of Van Buren, 7575 Van Buren Road, Baldwinsville, NY 13027; or by fax to 315-635-8247.
To view PAC-B’s recording of the Sept. 1 public hearing, visit vimeo.com/454085395.