Council Legislation/Environmental Committee
April 28, 2025

Vacant Commercial Building and Vacant Lot OrdinanceLegislation Environmental Committee MeetingApril 28, 2025Agenda Item 3.4 VACANT COMMERCIAL BUILDING and VACANT LOTREGISTRATION ORDINANCESEPTEMBER 2022A Proposed Ordinance was presented to the Legislation Committee, which approved and forwarded a recommendation for the full Council’s consideration.NOVEMBER 2022The Proposed Ordinance was presented to City Council, as an informational item, and it was tabled due to a determination the implementation and enforcement of the Ordinance was infeasible at the time.NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023Though NSS had again been tasked to begin to prepare information to present an Ordinance to the Legislation Committee, the project was put on hold, as the City Manager’s Office was contemplating a taxing component in addition to, or possible alternative to, the Ordinance. JANUARY 2025NSS was directed to draft a revised version of the previously Proposed 2022 Ordinance to present to the Legislation Committee.FEBRUARY 3, 2025A revised version of the Vacant Commercial Building and Vacant Lot Ordinance was presented to the Legislation Committee, which approved and forwarded a recommendation for the full Council’s consideration.MARCH 3, 2025NSS Presented the Revised Ordinance to City Council, which was not approved, and City Council requested a re-work of the Proposed Fee Schedule as well as possibly addressing differentiating between a short-term vacancy and chronic vacancies.

PROPOSED FEE SCHEDULE *VACANT COMMERCIAL BUILDING and VACANT LOTREGISTRATION ORDINANCEVacant Commercial BuildingsFirst Year Fee (and subsequent years if property conforms with SMC 15.32) $ 250Second Year Fee (if the property does not conform with SMC 15.32) $ 500Third and Subsequent Years Fee (if the property does not conform with SMC 15.32) $ 1,000Vacant LotsAnnual Fee $ 250* These are Registration Fees only. Fines, and other Administrative actions for non-compliance are administeredin accordance with existing provisions of SMC Chapters 1.24 through 1.40.

VACANT PROPERTY REGISTRATION PROGRAMS IN CITIES WITH THE MOSTSIMILAR POPULATION OF STOCKTON Annual FeeType of ProgramPopulationCity$65Vacant Lot Registration Program Only526,384Sacramento$250Vacant Lot Registration Program Only449,468Long Beach$914Vacant Foreclosed Properties Registration OnlyThere is a Separate Property Tax for All Types of Vacant Properties Ranging from $1,000 - $6,000 per/Property436,504OaklandNoneVacant Commercial Buildings Only413,381Bakersfield----No Vacant Property Program340,512Anaheim319,543STOCKTON$70Vacant and Foreclosed Residential Only318,858Riverside----No Vacant Property Program314,621Irvine$1,232Vacant Residential and Commercial (vacant lots not included)310,539Santa Ana$70Vacant Residential Property Only274,333Chula Vista----No Program226,208Fremont

VACANT PROPERTY REGISTRATION FEES CHARGED BY CITIES WITHINSTOCKTON’S GEOGRAPHICAL SPHEREHayward – Annually (vacant building or vacant lot) $ 2,500Vallejo – Annually (vacant building or vacant lot) $ 453 Modesto - Commercial fronting on major collector or smaller $ 476Commercial fronting on principal arterial $ 833Commercial fronting on minor arterial $ 833Commercial fronting on expressway $ 1,547Commercial backing up to freeway $ 3,094San Jose - Initial Vacant Commercial Buildings and Storefronts $ 200Monthly Inspection Fee if Property is found notregistered, and is non-compliant withVacant Property Standards $ 600Los Banos – Annually (vacant residential and commercial buildings) $ 312Alameda – Annually (vacant building or vacant lot) $ 1,052Fairfield – Annually (vacant building or vacant lot) $ 185