The Invercargill City Council wants to crack down on untidy and neglected commercial buildings in the city centre.
A report by council heritage and urban design planner Shannon Baxter will be presented to councillors next week with an aim to address the issue and give options which could help owners keep maintenance up to date.
She said concerns had been raised within the community regarding untidy neglected commercial buildings in the city centre.
"[It] seems to detract from recent city centre redevelopment work, community pride and the external perception of Invercargill."
Officers investigated practices across the country and the experience of other local authorities suggested it was more beneficial when councils took an "enabling" approach as opposed to an "enforcement" approach.
The majority of commercial building owners were motivated to have a tidy building in order to help attract and retain quality tenants, she said.
However, there were cases where achieving this could be more challenging for building owners due to the rising costs of maintenance as well as the ability to engage tradespeople.
"With their rental income diminished, an owner’s first response is to keep costs low. Building maintenance is invariably the first place they look to do this."
She offered some options for councillors to consider.
These included the establishment of an incentive fund with an annual budget of $200,000 for four years with eligibility based on location.
An enabling approach would have a budget of about $10,000 and would include launching a social media campaign focused on keeping the city centre tidy and fostering civic pride. It would also involve establishing a connection between elected members and building owners to discuss owner responsibilities and funding opportunities.
Another option proposes a regulatory enforcement approach, but this one was not encouraged as it would require an "unlimited potential budget" to fund enforcement actions.
"There are significant costs, limitations and lack of regulatory framework to enable enforcement."
At the meeting on Tuesday, councillors will decide on the voting system for the 2025 elections.
The council resolved to seek public feedback for the first time on the matter as part of the pre-engagement events for the long-term plan.
It received 68 submissions in total on this issue — 37 were in favour of the single transferable vote (STV) system and 31 in favour of first past the post (FPP).
"At the Bluff community event, Bluff as a community was pro FPP, while younger people tended to be in favour of STV."
