The Green Bay Common Council is moving forward with a proposal to establish a vacant property registration and fee program. This effort aims to deter property owners, both commercial and residential, from allowing their buildings to sit empty for long periods of time.

Goals and Next Steps

Goals of the program include encouraging productive use of spaces and cutting down on the costs to taxpayers. The discussion began shortly after concern was raised about a prominent historic building on Dousman Street that has been dormant for at least 15 years. Next steps include gathering more information as to what other communities are doing in similar situations and how the ordinance would be applied to commercial versus residential properties.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.