Town Manager's Office

Property Maintenance Code Amended

Wethersfield, Connecticut - The Town Council amended The Property Maintenance Code of the Town of Wethersfield on May 5, 2003. The purpose of the Code is to preserve the beauty of the neighborhoods and to allow for control of blighted premises by promoting public health, controlling communicable diseases, and reducing environmental hazards. It was amended to establish stricter minimum standards and responsibilities for the maintenance of all premises as well as create enforcement procedures.

Blighted premises shall mean any building or structure, or any part of a structure that is a separate unit, or a parcel of land, or any accessory structure, or fence, in which at least one of the following additional conditions exists:

  1. The Director of Health determines that existing conditions pose a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of the persons in Town;
  2. It is not being maintained, as evidenced by the existence, to a significant degree, of one or more of the following conditions:
    1. Missing, broken or boarded windows or doors;
    2. Collapsing or deteriorating exterior walls, roofs, stairs, porches, handrails, railings, basement hatchways, chimneys, flues, or floors;
    3. exterior walls which contain holes, breaks, loose or rotting materials;
    4. foundation walls which contain open cracks and breaks;
    5. overhang extensions, including but not limited to canopies, marquees, signs, awnings, stairways, fire escapes, standpipes and exhaust ducts, which contain rust or other decay,
    6. rat infestations;
    7. garbage or trash improperly stored or accumulated on the premises ;
    8. in the case of fence, broken or rotted boards or in an otherwise dilapidated condition; or
    9. any other exterior condition reflecting a level of maintenance which is not in keeping with community standards or which constitutes a blighting factor for adjacent property owners or occupiers or which is an element leading to the progressive deterioration of the neighborhood.
  3. It is attracting illegal activity as documented in Police Department records;
  4. It is a fire hazard as determined by the Fire Marshal or as documented in the Fire Department records; and/or
  5. It is a factor creating a substantial and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of other premises within the surrounding area as documented by neighborhood complaints, police reports, the cancellation of insurance on proximate properties; or similar circumstances.

Blighted premises shall not include any such building, structure or parcel of land located on any active farm.

A key component of the amended Code is the appointment of a Citation Hearing Board. The Board will conduct hearings when requested by an owner/occupier who has been cited. Currently, the Wethersfield Town Manager, Bonnie Therrien, is seeking Wethersfield residents who wish to serve on the Citation Hearing Board. Anyone interested in being appointed should contact the Town Manager's Office in writing at 505 Silas Deane Highway. If you have questions, please call Bonnie L. Therrien, Town Manager at 721-2801.

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