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The Dunedin City Council needs to carry a bigger stick to encourage owners of dilapidated buildings to care for them, a Dunedin city councillor says.
Cr David Benson-Pope this week asked for the council's rates and funding advisory panel to consider ways the rates system could be used to "encourage better behaviour" by owners.
Some property owners were leaving "eyesores in our streets", which was of particular concern in the city's heritage precincts, he said.
Cr Benson-Pope was speaking at the end of Tuesday's finance and council-controlled organisation committee meeting, when councillors were able to raise any items of interest with the chairman, Cr Mike Lord.
Cr Lord said the request would be considered, while Cr Lee Vandervis asked if Cr Benson-Pope wanted to focus on incentives or penalties.
Both, Cr Benson-Pope replied, saying the good work of many building owners was acknowledged.
The council was proposing to increase funding to support building owners as part of its draft 10-year plan, but it needed some "sticks" as well as the "carrots" it already offered, he said.
Cr Benson-Pope's comments came after he called in January for a row of derelict Princes St buildings left empty for years to be redeveloped before they collapsed.
The buildings at 372-392 Princes St were owned by Christchurch property developer Luke Dirkzwager, and already had consent for redevelopment, but had been empty since 2009 and were badly degraded.
Cr Benson-Pope also signalled in January he wanted stronger council rules for people who "just land-bank valuable and important strategic properties until they fall down".
"We're really good with carrots. We've just got to develop a few more sticks."
One possibility he floated was a special rating area, allowing the city to undertake work at the owners' cost to improve or shield buildings from view.
The rates and funding advisory panel was due to meet on Monday, but Cr Benson-Pope's request was likely to require further investigation before being discussed in detail at a subsequent meeting, staff said yesterday.