Kalamazoo, MI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 21-30 flatly prohibits keeping or maintaining any blighted and/or vacant structure, building, dwelling, garage, outbuilding, factory, shop, store or warehouse in the City, and § 21-2 defines a blighted structure broadly to include buildings no longer habitable due to fire, wind or deterioration, structures not weathertight or verminproof, partially completed construction without a valid permit, and buildings showing peeling paint, a sagging roof, missing siding, broken windows, a collapsing porch, a cracked foundation or graffiti. Section 21-31 then sets minimum maintenance duties for every property owner, not just owners of already-blighted structures: exterior areas must stay clean, sanitary and free of debris, brush, severed limbs, junk, rubbish, physical hazards, rodent harborage and infestation; firewood must be stacked neatly or screened from adjoining properties; building materials can't sit longer than 90 days and must be kept off the ground; scaffolding can't stay up longer than 90 days or the related permit's length; and heavy equipment can't be stored in a residential zone without an active building permit.

Owners of vacant blighted structures face added duties under §§ 21-35 through 21-39: they must register the structure with the City, submit to interior inspection for health and safety, backed by an administrative search warrant if needed, and pay a monthly or biannual administrative fee tied to the structure's monitoring tier. Enforcement runs through § 21-40: a minimum $200 civil-infraction fine plus court costs for maintaining a blighted structure, doubling to a minimum $400 for a second violation at the same structure within six months, while allowing a registered vacant structure to be occupied with uncorrected violations is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 and/or 90 days in jail.