Bowling Green, KY Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Sec. 27-4.02 amends the International Property Maintenance Code's unsafe-structures provision to define exactly what counts as an 'unsafe / problem structure' in Bowling Green: a building damaged by fire, wind or seismic event to the point it endangers life or property; one so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe or unsanitary that it is unfit for human habitation or likely to cause sickness or injury; a building with inadequate light, air or sanitation; one with inadequate fire egress; one marked by disconnected utilities, broken glass, peeling paint or rotting roof and wall materials; or any vacant building or structure left unsecured from entry or the elements.

If the structure is not in danger of collapse and the owner closes and secures it, it may legally stand closed for up to sixty days from the date of condemnation, fire, other damage, or release from a criminal or fire investigation. By the end of that window the owner must have applied for either a building permit to repair it or a demolition permit; a granted repair permit gives sixty more days to finish the work, while a granted demolition permit requires starting within five days and finishing within thirty.

If the owner misses those deadlines or lets the structure go unsecured, the City may enter the property to board it up or otherwise secure it, and may demolish and remove it at the owner's expense. Structural violations under Chapter 27's fine schedule carry civil penalties of $150, $300 and $600 for a first, second and later uncontested offense.