Mayor to Update Blight Ordinance

Mayor Elinor Carbone is pleased to announce that the City of Torrington is in the process of updating and strengthening the municipal blight ordinance.  

The updates, which will soon go before the Ordinance Subcommittee of the City Council, include such changes as assigning a Blight Enforcement Officer and better defining the steps to address blighted structures or premises whether through civil or criminal persecution.  The Mayor and code enforcement officials met earlier this year with Mayors and officials in New Britain and Waterbury to compare best practices.  

"The City of Torrington, like all communities with an aging housing stock, continues to combat the issue of blighted properties.  Whether the blighted conditions present a risk to the health or safety of citizens of the city, or the property and/or structures and buildings present code violations, our goal is to work with the property owner to bring the property into compliance with the ordinance.  However, when faced with an uncooperative property owner, it is imperative that the city utilize the enforcement tools available through Connecticut State Statutes.  It is unfair that property owners and residents who take great pride in their homes should suffer the consequences of a poorly maintained property or a dangerous or unsafe structure that diminishes the value of the neighborhood in which they are located" said Mayor Carbone.

As part of the efforts to update the ordinance, a brief survey has been created to gather feedback, to take the survey, please click here.  

The full press release can be found by clicking here