18-07RESOLUTION NO. 18-07
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CLEARWATER,
FLORIDA, ADOPTING A "FORECLOSURE POLICY";
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City has identified many properties within the City that are
abandoned, vacant, and a blight to the City or have a large number of City liens
recorded against them; and
WHEREAS, the City has been exploring potential remedies for these properties;
and
and
WHEREAS, one remedy is the foreclosure of the City's liens on these properties;
WHEREAS, the City Planning and Development Department has identified
specific criteria to identify the problem properties that are good candidates for the
foreclosure program; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to adopt a policy to guide staff in resolving these
problem properties; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The City Council for the City of Clearwater, Florida adopts the
attached "Land Development — H. Foreclosure Policy."
Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of March, 2018.
cteOr`e^CrC\kkor
Assistant City Attorney
George N. Cretekos
Mayor
Attest:
4-
Rosemarie CaII
City Clerk
Resolution No. 18-07
Land Development (Cont.)
F. Parks & Recreation Card to Annexing Property. Resident Parks & Recreation
cards may be obtained by petitioners for annexation upon acceptance of the
application.
G. Waiver/reduction of liens. In order to encourage (re) development of properties
for enhancement of property values and living conditions in the City, the following
factors will be considered for requests for waivers/reductions of lot clearing,
nuisance abatement, and/or unsafe structures/demolition liens.
• Whether the violation has been brought into compliance regarding the
violation cited.
• Whether extreme or undue hardship is shown regarding payment of the lien
and/or regarding coming into compliance with code requirements during the
required time.
• Whether there are existing code violations on other properties owned by the
violator or prospective purchaser.
• Whether there is a development or redevelopment proposal regarding the
property which would result in improvement or upgrade of the property.
• Whether, given such a development or redevelopment plan, it would be
impractical to take the compliance action directed by the City Council.
• Whether payment would hinder a proposed sale of the property.
• Whether an appraisal of the property, submitted by the applicant,
demonstrates to the City that the cost of the lien has been absorbed.
• The amount of a lien will not be reduced below the amount representing
administrative costs incurred by the city regarding the case.
H. Foreclosure. In order to address blighted and vacant properties within the City,
the following factors will be considered for utilization of the foreclosure process to
put properties in the hands of new owners who will care for and use the property
to promote economic development within the City.
• All properties are considered (commercial, residential, and vacant lots).
• Properties with mortgages are considered.
• Properties that are occupied are considered.
• Properties with significant code or other city liens are considered.
• Homestead exempted properties will not be considered.
Once a property is selected and referred to the City Attorney for review, a
demand letter may be sent to the property owner requesting payment of the liens
in full prior to initiating a foreclosure action. If contact cannot be made, or
payment is not received by the date indicated in the letter, the City Attorney shall
seek authorization from the City Council to initiate a foreclosure action against
the property.