SAN ANTONIO – Since implementing the Vacant Building Pilot Program in January, the city has identified 471 structures that fail to meet the standard of care outlined in the program.
"Sometimes buildings will be vacant, but it should not look abandoned or neglected," said Shanon Miller, director of the Office of Historic Preservation.
The pilot program aims to reduce the number of vacant buildings in San Antonio.
Former District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal spearheaded the program. Many consider downtown San Antonio to be ground zero in the fight to eliminate rundown buildings and empty store-fronts.
"The real goal was to do one of two things: to get these houses sold or these buildings sold so they're restored, or, if they're not going to be sold, to be kept in a certain way where they're not really affecting, in a negative way, their neighbors," said Bernal.
The pilot program only applies to vacant properties in the city's central business district and local historic districts. Properties near local landmarks or within a half-mile radius of active military bases also fall under the program's umbrella.
Property owners have until April to register their vacant properties with the city, and either bring them up to code or prove that the process of doing so has started. Miller said that includes things like repairing and weather-proofing broken windows, removing plywood from doorways, and maintaining the building's facade.
"The standard of care will bring a building up to the point it looks like someone could reasonably move into it," Miller said.
Failure to comply with the code can result in a Class C misdemeanor and a daily fine of up to $2,000 per violation.
Patrick Shearer, president of Crockett Urban Ventures, owns several vacant buildings downtown. He said his firm's buildings are already up to code, but the program puts the onus on property owners to be good stewards of downtown.
"We recognize that as downtown property owners we have a responsibility to be good neighbors to the folks around us and the people that visit downtown," Shearer said. "With any city policy you can have the carrot or the stick, and I think the city has done a pretty good job offering carrots and promoting new development."