Please review the 11-page text of the proposed Plainfield Vacant & Dangerous Building Ordinance to be taken up at public hearing related to the Selectboard hearing next Monday, September 8, 6-7 pm. The text of the ordinance may be found online at http://www.plainfieldvt.us/index.php/town-documents/category/94-ordinances-policies#

There are a number of aspects of this lengthy proposed ordinance which are of concern to me. Please review the document closely yourself and make your thoughts known at the hearing on September 8, 6-7 pm. You may want to give your attention to requirements that a vacant building permit be sought within a week of vacancy, and other provisions regarding vacant buildings being free of combustible materials (i.e. no storage of boxes of records, furniture, books, etc) and be in an animal- and rat-proof condition (an impossibility even for an occupied old house, with resident cats). You may also want to draw your attention to proposed civil penalties, and the provisions making violation of this ordinance a criminal offense.