Abandoned properties can have a detrimental impact on the general welfare of a community. The City of Auburn is committed to working with residents to minimize impacts to neighborhoods from abandoned properties. Neighbors and neighborhoods should look to the City as a partner in addressing these impacts.
An important first step is to keep the City informed. If you or your neighbors are concerned that a property is abandoned, please contact the City’s code compliance staff at 253-931-3090 or permitcenter@auburnwa.gov and leave as much detailed information as possible, particularly the property address, and your contact information if you wish to be contacted and key issues or concerns.
One of the City’s two code compliance officers will promptly conduct a site investigation to determine code violations and then immediately follow up with the property owner. If the owner is living at the property, the officer is usually successful in obtaining a quick response and the property cleaned up.
In some instances owners may live in the region, but not at the property. Our officers have a number of tools at their disposal to locate the off-site property owners and are often able to quickly and successfully get a property cleaned up. There are cases, however, that involve properties where the owners are located out of state and/or are banking institutions that often do not have a presence in Auburn, the region or the State of Washington.
In those instances where a property owner cannot be immediately located or there is an out of state bank, the City can access a nationwide database of 62 million households. This database provides the City with contact information for the current owner. While this nationwide database does not cover all households in Auburn, the City has been able to find information for a significant number of properties. In addition, the City can also access records through King County that show when a property changes ownership and the new owner contact information.
The City’s Code Compliance staff takes a proactive approach to dealing with abandoned properties. The City has adopted policies and procedures that offer property owners multiple opportunities to clean up their properties.
In some instances, where a property owner has failed to respond to the City’s efforts to get compliance, the City can, under local law adopted by the Auburn City Council, impose a daily civil penalty that is $500 for the first day and $100 per each additional day.
If these penalties go unpaid after 14 days, the City can file a lien against the property. If a property owner pays the penalty, they are still legally obligated to clean up their property.
By working together, residents and City staff can effectively respond to and minimize the damaging impacts of abandoned properties on neighborhoods. City staff is available to work with individuals or neighborhoods or homeowners associations to address abandonment issues or concerns. If you would like more information on City resources for abandoned properties, call 253-931-3090 or e-mail permitcenter@auburnwa.gov.
If you would like to schedule a neighborhood meeting to discuss your concerns about abandoned properties, please contact Duanna Richards, neighborhood programs manager, 253-931-3009 or drichards@auburnwa.gov.
Kevin Snyder, AICP, is the planning and development director for the City of Auburn. Reach him at 253-876-1982 or ksnyder@auburnwa.gov.
