Held Atlanta proposal would require security for unimproved vacant properties

An Atlanta ordinance proposes requiring unimproved vacant real property covered by the city’s vacant-property rules to have a barrier or qualifying alternative security measure within 60 days of registration. A compliant barrier would have to be at least six feet high and meet applicable zoning rules; where zoning prohibits one, the proposal calls for an alternative.

Alternatives could include monitored surveillance, security patrols or dense landscaping, subject to police specifications. The text proposes a $500 fine per noncompliant property. The Sept. 29 draft committee agenda lists ordinance 26-O-1441 among papers held in committee and notes it was held Aug. 11 for further review; it does not establish that these requirements took effect.