City Councilor Brook Bassan and Mayor Tim Keller aren’t always on the same side of an issue, but when it comes to cleaning up problem properties, they found common ground.

Mayor Keller today signed a Bassan-sponsored bill to create a new administrative hearing process to speed up notice and resolution of problem properties.

One property at 3711 Lombardy Road NW, for example, has been the subject of complaints and actions for three years, according to city officials who shared the details today. After years of attempts by the planning department to force the owner to fix violations, the mayor’s office asked the city council to begin a nuisance declaration process in November of 2022. After several hearings, the council finally took action authorizing the planning department to demolish the property in June 2023 — but the property is still standing 8 months later.

That property was scheduled for demolition today, officials said, but the owner applied for and received their own demolition permit earlier this week. The owner will now be responsible for removing the structure.

The new bill would speed up that process by creating a new administrative hearing process akin to a civil court proceeding where city officials and the owner can enter evidence and seek a resolution. In theory, that process is quicker than the current route requiring every demolition to be considered by the city council which only meets a few times a month and where councilors often defer action to encourage more time to locate absentee owners or review proposed plans.

If no resolution is reached, the hearing officer can order destruction. The owner can still appeal to the city council if they are engaged and choose to do so.

“We give people every chance we can to fix their property, but when the nuisance is causing so much harm for the neighbors then we have to step in and perform the unpleasant task of clearing the property,” said Planning Department Director Alan Varela. “It is never our first choice but we have to keep our city safe.”