Politics & Government

Port Chester Considers Increasing Building Violations Amnesty Program

Port Chester Village is considering new ways to get homeowners to bring their houses up to code in the face of criticism related to the village fixing its property records.

The possible new incentives would make an amnesty program clearing up past decades' violations and building files larger, according to a lohud.com article.

Many of the Port Chester buildings do not have certificates of occupancy, building permits or mandatory zoning variances, so the proposed changes would help ease the process of legalizing building modifications that were initially done improperly, according to the article.

Some of the proposed incentives include allowing simpler construction drawings to certify minor improvements in one or two family homes and legalizing long-past building use changes. Buildings would still be required to follow all state building regulations.

The public hearing about the changes will be held Aug. 19.

Critics have said residents are feeling too many of the repercussions of fixing Port Chester's property records, according to the article.

Village officials have been working on updating the Building Department for several years after a criminal investigation into government corruption and an investigation into a house fire led to the decision that building records needed to be updated.


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