Bill punishing owners of blighted properties OK’d

A Saipan local measure that would hold owners of blighted properties responsible now heads to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres after the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation passed it after hours of discussion and four amendments Monday.

The original intent of House Local Bill 20-14, according to author Rep. Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), was to rid Saipan of “eyesore” buildings that are blighted and home to criminal activities and breeding ground for pests.

However, according to Rep. Francisco Dela Cruz (R-Saipan), the bill did not indicate government-owned blighted properties.

“We have a lot of government buildings on government property, where rats are infesting [and] criminal activities are happening on these public government structures. It [was] somewhat unclear,” said Dela Cruz during discussions on Monday. The bill was then amended to include blighted government properties and government-owned facilities on public lands.

Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan) included amendments to also encompass blighted properties on tourist areas and industrial areas along primary roads within Saipan.

“…The author’s intent is really to make sure properties are clean. It affects our economy, our tourists and visitors,” said Deleon Guerrero. “…I want to support this bill and let the Commonwealth Zoning Board work with [this]. If it needs further tweaking, we can add in secondary roads and so forth,” he said, adding that the bill does not include rural properties.

Rep. Ivan A. Blanco (R-Saipan) noticed a grammatical error in the legislation, where the word “days” was unintentionally omitted from the bill in a provision that allows the Zoning administrator to issue warning notices to violators of the legislation after 60 days.

Rep. Blas “BJ” Jonathan Attao (Ind-Saipan) thought the public needs to be educated first about the bill and allowed to take the initiative to fix their properties. The fourth and last amendment to H.B. 20-14 was to allow the enforcement of H.B. 20-14 a year after its enactment to provide residents with time to prepare.

The delegation voted unanimously to pass the legislation at 19-0, with two members absent.

Most abandoned and blighted properties on Saipan are remnants of the once-flourishing garment industry.