The Aurora City Council moved forward with a new tool for handling neglected buildings in the city, saying that if a property owner doesn’t comply with requirements to fix their property it will be done for them at their expense.

The ordinance, brought to a study session by Councilmember Stephanie Hancock and unanimously moved forward to a future council vote on Monday, comes from a “troubling trend” of property owners treating code violation fines and court appearances as routine costs of doing business rather than incentives to comply with city code, according to council documents.

Neglected and derelict buildings can pose a health and safety threat to the public, Hancock said, making the buildings targets for break-ins and causing neighborhood blight.

The ordinance would be a “last resort measure” that would allow the city to request a receiver to take control of the property and fix it if the property manager does not comply. All costs would then be billed to the property manager.

A property considered “neglected and derelict” means it has unsafe conditions, is vacant and boarded up, has repeat code violations, ongoing code violations, or is a neighborhood nuisance, according to the deputy director of housing and human services, John Wesolowski.

He pointed to a shopping mall near the municipal center. The property owners don’t live in the country and aren’t bothered by the fines or court orders. The building has been neglected for years, he said.

“It doesn’t matter to them, they just keep paying those fines and that’s a result of our current process,” he added.

If the ordinance passes at the next City Council meeting, it will change the process of handling noncompliance.

First, the property owner would get a notice of violation and be required to submit a remedial plan within 30 days. If they do not submit or follow a plan, the issue would go to a show cause hearing. The court would then order the appointment of a receiver if necessary, who would take control of the property and do the necessary work and all costs would be assessed against the owner as a property lien, according to Wesolowski.

Once compliance is reached, the property would go back to the owner.

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said she has some “heartburn” over the ordinance because she is worried it will lead to “too much government overreach” and become a “tool” for denying the “reality of what’s going on in a property.”

Jurinsky was referring to recent incidents in Aurora in which the city had to shut down apartment complexes overrun by Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. Initially, the presence of the gang at the apartments was denied and blame for property neglect was shifted solely to the management company, CBZ Management.

“I see another setup for denial of what’s going on at a property, what we just went through,” Jurinsky said.

Councilmember Curtis Gardner agreed, saying he understands the need for the city to make sure people take care of their property, but “at the same time, people have property rights.”

Hancock countered that property owners have a “responsibility” to make sure they maintain properties for the wellbeing and safety of the community, adding that she is “also not a fan of government overreach.”

The city of Denver already has a similar program in place with a Neglected and Derelict Building List. If a property ends up on it, the city’s Community Planning and Development office inspects the property monthly to make sure it remains safe and inaccessible. In December, Denver had to board up the former Channel 7 building at 6th and Speer Boulevard and billed the property owner for that work.

Aurora councilmembers agreed to move forward with the ordinance and add language that clarifies how they will handle it if there is a criminal element involved.

The issue will go to an official vote at the next regular council meeting, scheduled for May 19.