ZELIENOPLE — In an effort to clean up properties in the borough and promote unused space to be sold or rented, council will consider a vacant building ordinance that would assess fees to building owners.

During a council meeting Monday, manager Don Pepe said a team of Zelienople officials and business owners have been working on the ordinance at council’s request. The group used a model provided by Town Center Associates, a Beaver County-based business development firm.

“I am asking council to take a look at it to be able to deal with those properties that we are finding it difficult in terms of people not putting out the appropriate signage for sale when they’ve been vacant for a long time,” Pepe said.

According to Shelly Kaltenbaugh, Zelienople’s code enforcement and zoning officer, the ordinance would allow the borough to contact property owners if a ground-floor space is vacant, hasn’t been maintained and is lacking signage. The property owner would be given 45 days to address the issues, after which a $500 “monitoring fee” would be imposed. The ordinance would only apply to ground-floor commercial structures.

Kaltenbaugh said there is at least one building in Zelienople that has been the subject of questions, with many inquiries made to the borough about who to contact for rental or purchase. The ordinance would address these issues, she said.

“The hope is that this will not only spur people to properly advertise that their space is for rent and keep it cleaned up. The ultimate idea is to get these vacant spaces filled,” she said.

Pepe said Tuesday there are two or three buildings in the borough that could be covered by the ordinance, but he was unsure if they would qualify.

Pepe said a bill would be sent to the property, with the fee imposed yearly if the issues aren’t addressed. If the fee is not paid, a lien could be imposed on the property. A resident in attendance questioned the $500 fee, and said he believed it to be too low, which led to discussion about what would be fair but also encourage action.

“It’s not a terrible amount, but at the same time, it gives the impetus to do what is really a simple thing to do which makes their property even more worthwhile,” Pepe said of the $500 fee.

Council voted to advertise the ordinance, with discussion to continue at future meetings. Pepe said if significant changes are made, which could include changing the amount of the fee, the ordinance process would start over.