[MainstreetManagers] Senate Bill 400

[Maci Graves]

Good afternoon, everyone!

I have some very important updates to share with you regarding Senate Bill 400.

We have discussed at the local and state level numerous times how to address vacant/unoccupied buildings in our districts. Title 11, Section 22-112.4 Abandoned Buildings - Public Nuisance - Abatement by Municipal Governing Body is a great start but there is a huge component missing from that Statute, that being unoccupied buildings.   There are many studies out there that show conclusively that unoccupied buildings cause increased Municipal regulatory costs and increased Municipal police and fire protection costs.  Unoccupied buildings also devaluate abutting and nearby properties.

What is an unoccupied building?   Any building that does not currently hold people but may have furniture and business or personal belongings inside or outside.   The current Statute has been a useful tool for us when dealing with Abandoned Buildings, but it does not address unoccupied or vacant buildings.   Many buildings in our Central Business District, for example, are unoccupied, serving no useful purpose except for storage. These properties meet the criteria for being a public nuisance, yet cities do not currently have the authority to abate them in the same manner as an Abandoned Building.

To help us work through this issue we have worked with our local Building Official and Code Enforcement officer, Ken Bradley, and he has sent a draft Statue change to Senator Coleman. Senator Coleman took a draft copy and reviewed it with other members of the Senate before finalizing the language. We believe, if passed, this will be a significant change across the State as municipalities will be able to deal with vacant properties in the same manner that they would abandoned properties. Municipalities that choose to adopt and adhere to this policy will have a new option/tool to help their respective Main Street program revitalize their downtown district. This will lead to benefits for both the Municipality and the Main Steet through increased investment in the downtown district, increased sales tax revenue, and more participation in the Main Street program.

What do we need from you? Each Main Street program can reach out to their Mayors, City Commissioners, and Senators and Representatives in support of this proposed amendment so that we can work towards more vibrant and revitalized downtowns across the State. If this amendment passes, this will make a MAJOR impact in our districts and lead to big change towards revitalization.

The proposed amended SB400 is included in the link below.
http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2025-26%20INT/SB/SB400%20INT.PDF<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2025-26*20INT/SB/SB400*20INT.PDF__;JSU!!NZFi6Pppv9YRQw!pUWx7BR_CS18_09SsAtG4TN-auB9PyJ9gBdd8nCCDkxIJDWp5lV_2ofH-VPLI9sqAtAUO5P-O7Duuy_EnorS_NXBO70w3K0$>

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or contact Ken Bradley at 580-485-6337 (C) or 580-767-0332 (O). I also plan on bringing this up again in our ED meeting next week so if you have any questions that you would like for me to research in the meantime, please let me know.

Thank you, everyone!

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