An August 6 Gazette article describes how Prince George’s County is considering creating a property registry for foreclosed commercial properties, similar to an existing registry for residential properties.  The purpose of the registry is to help the County make sure any vacant properties are properly maintained.

Foreclosed commercial properties can lie vacant and show their neglect. And the president of the Prince George’s County Council wants to do something about it.

Last year, the county adopted legislation requiring the registration of all foreclosed or vacant residential properties. Now Council President Samuel H. Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville has proposed extending that to commercial properties.

The residential law, which needed state approval, requires lenders to notify the county’s Department of Environmental Resources within five days of filing for foreclosure of the property. The notice includes the property’s address and, if known, the owners, lender and people responsible for the property’s management and maintenance prior to the sale. Violators are fined $50 per day.

Dean wants to expand the registry to foreclosed commercial properties in response to complaints from neighbors about two vacant golf courses in Upper Marlboro. Hercules O. Pitts of Upper Marlboro filed for foreclosure of both his Marlborough Golf Club and Lake Arbor Golf Club on April 8; both have been closed since 2009. Residents complained the property was not being kept up and resulted in blight, Dean said.