Pontiac, MI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Pontiac City Code § 22-28.01, adopted under Ordinance No. 2355 pursuant to MCLA 117.4q, creates an Administrative Hearings Bureau "to adjudicate and impose sanctions for blight violations." Section 22-28.02 defines a blight violation as a violation of any Pontiac City Code section pertaining to zoning; building or property maintenance; solid waste and illegal dumping; disease and sanitation; noxious weeds; vehicle abandonment, inoperative vehicles, vehicle impoundment, and municipal vehicle licensing; right-of-way signage placed without a permit; or a code section substantially the same as sections 138 to 142 of the Housing Law of Michigan, 1917 PA 167.

A licensed attorney serves as the Blight Violation Hearing Officer under § 22-28.03 and can subpoena witnesses, weigh evidence, and issue a written decision; the City bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The City initiates a case by serving a written violation notice under § 22-28.04, and the named person can admit responsibility by mail, deny it at a hearing, or face a default order for failing to appear under § 22-28.05. Nonemergency hearings must allow the alleged violator at least 14 days after service to prepare under § 22-28.06.

Under § 22-28.07, the penalty for a blight violation is a civil fine of up to $500.00, though the Hearing Officer may waive the fine for a first-time offender at an owner-occupied dwelling who has corrected the violation, and every determination carries a mandatory $10.00 judicial system assessment remitted to the State Treasury. A party may appeal to Circuit Court within 28 days under § 22-28.09, generally after posting a bond equal to the fine and costs. Separately, § 22-30 lets the city sue in district court to compel compliance or demolition, and § 22-31 preserves the city's eminent domain power over structures with a blighting effect.