ADRIAN — Opponents of a recently enacted city ordinance that affects the sale of residential properties are organizing a push to have it repealed.

In June, a narrow majority of the Adrian City Commission approved an ordinance that requires any residential dwelling being sold to undergo an exterior inspection for items such as peeling paint, damaged windows, rotting wood, roofs in need of repair, or junk accumulation. The ordinance states that residences must pass the inspection in order to be sold, unless the seller agrees to put aside money for the buyer to make repairs. Supporters called it a valuable tool for reducing blight and making sure dilapidated homes get fixed up, while opponents called it needlessly burdensome and an example of government overreach.

Although the city commission has the power to enact and repeal ordinances, residents also have that power through the referendum process. The process begins with a petition, which must be signed by at least 1,494 registered voters who live in the city. That’s 10% of the number of registered voters in the city as of the last municipal election.

If organizers gather enough valid signatures, the city clerk will take the petition to the commission, which then will have two choices: they can either enact the petition language themselves, which in this case would mean repealing the point-of-sale inspection ordinance, or they can put it on the ballot for all voters to consider.

The signatures must be gathered within a 21-day period. Once the petitions are submitted, the city clerk has 15 days to determine if it has enough valid signatures to move forward, and if there are any problems, organizers of the petition drive have another 15 days to correct them. At that point, if the petition is determined to be valid, the clerk will take it to the city commission. If the commission opts to put the issue before voters, that election must happen within 150 days of the meeting where the petition is presented to them.

In the case of an effort to repeal an ordinance, if organizers exceed the 10% number and gather signatures from 25% of the city’s registered voters — or 3,735 people — the ordinance in question also cannot be enforced until the matter is resolved.

A petition committee has been registered under the name “Adrian Community for the Repeal of the Point of Sale Ordinance,” and organizers of the group held an informational meeting on July 9 in the community room of the Adrian District Library.

“This is not a partisan issue,” said Carrie Smith, one of the organizers. “We have people in this room that make up all different sets of beliefs and values, and what’s so encouraging to me is that we can come together for the common good and work toward this issue that affects all of us.”

Although most of the meeting focused on the logistics of organizing a petition drive, organizers did describe their opposition to the ordinance.

“These inspections, exterior only, probably aren’t going to affect a lot of the city,” said Kasey White, a local real estate agent who is part of the committee. “It is going to have a direct impact on those that have less capability to get maintenance or any of the repairs done.”

She specifically mentioned sellers who can’t afford to make repairs, are physically unable to handle repairs themselves, or are trying to sell a home that belonged to someone who is deceased.

In addition to the goal of getting the ordinance repealed, White said, organizers want to increase civic participation and educate citizens about direct democracy.

Although the time frame is not completely certain yet, organizers said they hope to start collecting signatures in late July.

The committee has started a Facebook page for the campaign.

Previous stories and related links:

• Proposed point-of-sale inspection rule draws strong opposition (May 24)
• Point-of-sale inspection ordinance passes in 4-3 vote (June 4)
• Text of the ordinance (from the city commission agenda packet; ordinance begins on page 93)
• Video of the June 3 city commission meeting