Since the “good repair” ordinance setting building maintenance standards for nonresidential buildings in Greensboro went into effect on Tuesday, July 16, two complaints have been filed with the City of Greensboro and neither is for a building in the downtown area.

Much of the debate about the good repair ordinance was about the need to force downtown building owners to keep their buildings looking better. Two buildings in particular were often mentioned.  One is at 300 South Elm St. and currently houses the Lee Wrangler Hometown Studio and the other is the old Miller Furniture Building at 314 S. Elm.

When the good repair ordinance was first discussed by the current City Council, the plan was to have the ordinance only apply to buildings in the central business district, and included in the city’s legislative agenda is a request for the state legislature to pass a statute to make that possible.  It was only when it became evident to the City Council that it would get no special consideration from the current state legislature that the decision was made to have the ordinance be citywide.

The City Council had discussed delaying implementation of the new law by 30 or even 60 days, but in the end, the council passed the ordinance without any time constraints, so it went into effect on passage.

One complaint was for 402 E. Cornwallis Dr. (seen in the photo above).  The building formerly housed a restaurant and is owned by SJM&M LLC in Burlington. The only other building for which the city has received a complaint is 2119 Walker Ave. owned by 2119 Walker Ave. LLC and adjacent to Fishbones at the corner of Walker and Elam avenues.

The idea that all nonresidential buildings in the city would be covered by this ordinance caused some people to question whether the city would have enough inspectors for the increased workload.  If the result of the ordinance is two additional inspections a month, it seems that should not be a problem.