New Maintenance Requirements for Mendota Heights Businesses Under New Ordinance

The Mendota Heights city council passed a new ordinance last week with an eye for keeping the exteriors of local businesses aesthetically pleasing.

The ordinance includes guidelines for the appearance of buildings, windows, fences and landscaping, according to the South-West Review.

The city will be required to notify non-compliant businesses multiple times. Ten days after a final notification, the city will step in, performing the necessary maintenance or repair, and billing the business for its work.

Assistant City Administrator Jake Sedlacek said the ordinance came from the city's planning commission.

"The one that came out of the planning commission had—maybe support is a strong word, but the business community was accepting of the proposal as it was passed by the planning commission," Sedlacek told the council, according to the South-West Review.

The South-West Review has more on the ordinance at its website:

The city already has ordinances stipulating the maintenance requirements for private property, but the amended section is intended to give the city greater leverage in dealing with issues such as broken windows, overgrown weeds or rundown outbuildings on commercial properties. ...

A statement of purpose included with the code amendment includes a list of objectives for the new ordinance. Chief among these is preserving the value of commercial and industrial property in Mendota Heights. The statement also says the ordinance is intended to combat public health issues and "assist in identification and correction of dangerous or life threatening conditions."