The bill, drafted after a viewer complaint about abandoned land, now heads to the Senate.
A bill written after a state lawmaker watched an NBC CT Responds investigation is making moves.
It’s heading to the Connecticut state senate after a unanimous vote in the house.
House Bill 6651 would establish a working group to study the impact of unclaimed or abandoned property throughout the state and find solutions to help avoid conflicts between homeowners and cities and towns.
It was drafted after trees from an abandoned property fell on a Coventry’s man home.
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Last year, Dana Markie of Coventry called NBC CT Responds for help after not one, but two, massive trees fell on his home in two years’ time.
While insurance has helped him rebuild, it’s been costly mentally and financially twice over.
Our NBC CT Responds investigation found that the land the trees fell from has no owner, so neither Markie nor the town wants to pay for the cleanup of other concerning trees on the no-man’s-land.
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After seeing our report, Republican Representative Tim Ackert, who represents and lives in Coventry, visited the problem property and wrote the legislation.
Late Tuesday night, it passed unanimously by state representatives.
“There’s areas I think that we need to look at and address in many cases, as we did in the Coventry area, at least identify it, now how do we help, right?” said Ackert.
In some cases, Ackert says identifying these properties could help build a municipalities tax base, reduce eye sores and even create open space areas to be enjoyed, too.
“It’s interesting because some other landowners could say, ‘Oh wait a minute, I have open land next to me? I could add that to my plot of land,’ but then you have ownership and care which is really the key, care,” he said.
At this juncture, there has been no opposition to the bill.
NBC CT Responds spoke with Markie after the bill moved forward. He says he’s grateful for NBC CT Responds and Ackert’s efforts because he hopes no one else has to go through what’s he’s gone through or worse.
Next week marks one year since the second tree destroyed his home.
