STEUBENVILLE — Fed up with property owners who have the means but not the desire to demo their blighted and unsafe structures, Steubenville City Council is hoping to hit them where it hurts–their wallets.

Council is preparing to vote on an amendment to the city’s property maintenance code that will allow them to recoup costs incurred during demolition–typically, anywhere from $15,000-$30,000 per demo, though it can be more if asbestos is found–by attaching liens to any other parcel that same property owner holds title to.

While the city has always had the ability to attach liens to individual properties, buyers aren’t necessarily jumping at the chance to pay $20,000 for a vacant lot that may only be valued at a couple thousand dollars.

“We’re going to hold people who own multiple properties and have the means to pay for their demolition accountable,” Councilman Dave Albaugh said. “I think all their properties at that point in time should be (attached), taxpayers shouldn’t be burdened with it. When they have the means and they have other properties in the city, we need to go after them.”

The city demolished nine structures in 2025, shelling out a little over $156,100 from their Community Development Block Grant allotment to do it. That’s money officials say could have been directed to other needs in income-eligible neighborhoods.

“It’s a big problem,” Councilman Tracy McManamon said. “We do have a large number of landlords or property owners that have several houses that should be demolished, and they are simply ignoring their own personal and ethical responsibility to tear them down when they should.”

Nearly 100 buildings are currently on Steubenville’s “dilapidated and unsafe” structures list, McManamon said.

“This will give us the resources we need to more adequately manage the process and make sure we’re being as efficient as possible with our revenue and taxpayer funds,” McManamon said. “We are limited in terms of the funding we receive from different entities to tear down dilapidated properties–this simply gives us additional resources to help us bring neighborhoods back, one house at a time.”

Albaugh said the city recently ponied up nearly $20,000 to demo a fire-ravaged house in the downtown area, but the land itself is “probably only valued at $3,000.” Attaching a lien to that property alone is unlikely to bring much, if any, return.

“One of the houses we tore down, the owner has nine other properties in Steubenville but lives in Wintersville. He has a nice home there so you know he could afford to have torn his own property down,” Albaugh said. “If you’re only going to put a lien on the one property you had to tear down, who is going to pay that much for a lot that may only be worth a couple thousand dollars? He has other properties in Steubenville, and we want to lien them all so he can’t sell any of them until he pays for that demolition.”

McManamon said the ordinance, up for its third and final reading Tuesday “will (give us) the ability to recoup the costs we incur and eventually help us to demolish more homes that (can’t be saved). Obviously, our goal is to not have to do these demolitions, we don’t have an unending supply of money.”

“It’s going to give us the resources we need to more adequately manage the process and make sure we’re being as efficient as possible with our revenue and taxpayer funds,” McManamon said.

“At the end of the day it isn’t fair to city residents to have to live next door or across the street from these structures when the owner should take responsibility for their own properties and have structures demolished when they have the resources,” he said.