Attorney General praises Revere abandoned property ordinance

REVERE – A 2007 city ordinance requiring owners of abandoned local property to register their buildings with the city is being praised by Attorney General Martha Coakley as “a model for individual municipalities” and the state.Revere took its cue from Wilmington, Del. in adopting the building fine system. Inspectional Services Director Nicholas Catinazzo is urging residents to call City Hall with information about the condition of vacant buildings across the city.City inspectors periodically check on vacant buildings and bill their owners for administrative costs ranging from $500 to $3,000. In 2008, only $9,250 out of $40,500 in fines have been collected, but Catinazzo said the fines are meant to motivate owners to fix up their property or replace it.Two-thirds of the buildings on a list of 45 vacant properties compiled by Catinazzo’s office in 2007 were vacated within the last year.A vacant building on Warren Street and another on Furness Street were repaired, Catinazzo said, after the city publicized the vacant property list starting last fall.The two and half story wood frame Warren Street house had been a sore spot for neighbors and city officials since May 11, 2004 when former resident Albert Hovasse was killed after a welding torch he was using to repair pipes in the house started a fire.