Stratford, CT Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Chapter 161, Article I, the Antiblight Program, was adopted by the Stratford Town Council on 8-11-2008 as Ord. No. 08-04 and amended in its entirety on 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 10-26. Section 161-3 puts the duty on the owner: an owner must not cause blighted premises to be created and must not allow them to continue.

Section 161-2 defines blighted premises as any building or structure, any portion of one that is a separate unit, any accessory structure or fence, or any vacant parcel of land, where at least one listed condition exists. The conditions are a serious or immediate danger to health, safety or welfare as determined by the Town, maintenance below the standards of the community, and dilapidation that materially depreciates property values in the neighborhood. The definition then lists factors the Town considers: missing, broken or boarded windows or doors, a collapsing or missing wall, roof, floor, stairs or porch, badly damaged siding, fire damage, and a structurally faulty foundation. Vacant buildings must be boarded up as the Building Code requires, and plywood on a building vacant for more than two months must be painted to match the building.

Exterior standards cover broken glass and crumbling stone or brick, litter, improperly stored garbage or trash, graffiti, and grass that has gone to seed or grown to a height of more than eight inches. Further conditions include a fire hazard documented by the Fire Department, illegal activity documented by the Police Department, rat infestations documented by the Health Department, abandoned vehicles or boats on the property, and stored equipment that is rusted or not screened from neighbors and adjoining streets. A building is vacant after 60 days or longer without legal occupancy, and the neighborhood benchmark is a radius of 800 feet.