Business View Civil Municipal June 2023

55 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6 BANNING , CA disincentivize that.” The city’s plan includes implementing fees for the registration of vacant buildings and annual fire inspections, which may push these absentee property owners to lease or sell. The City has also taken an aggressive approach with court-ordered receivership when property owners are uncooperative. The city also has plans for revitalizing the downtown area. “We do have some city-owned land that we feel will kick off redevelopment and revitalization of our downtown,” Schulze says. One such property sits directly across from City Hall. The city is working with the Shanghai Construction Group to develop this into a full-service hotel with an adjacent 120 multifamily housing units. “To have a full- service hotel right in the downtown plus 120 units of multifamily housing is going to help support the small businesses,” Schulze affirms. In its quest to revitalize, Banning isn’t just focused on residential and commercial growth;