Paging Bill Allen: "Blight is eating American cities. Here’s how Mobile, Alabama, stopped it."

Long article, good article.

Blight is eating American cities. Here’s how Mobile, Alabama, stopped it, by Hana Schank (Fast Company)

The story of blight in Mobile, Alabama, is the story of the rich and poor in America, of unregulated real estate, and of centuries of inequality. But in Mobile, a small team figured out how to change the narrative.

... This is the story of how one city reduced blight, but it is also the story of what happens when cities think differently about how to solve their problems, when politicians are willing to embrace policies that might not line up with the party line, when city workers look beyond band-aid solutions. It is the story of how cities can do good things for their residents, and how people can work across the city to unravel knotty problems that are centuries in the making. While the crafters of the Alabama constitution wrote the document as a giant middle finger to the rest of the nation, to the government, and to any elected official who might ever try to wield power, Mobile’s modern-day residents have discovered that they need government’s help. They perhaps don’t want to be left alone as much as Mobilians did a century ago. They see their perpetual potential ...

"How our government helps investors profit from neighborhood decay."

Wow.

Investigative journalism really does exist.

Blight Inc. -- How our government helps investors profit from neighborhood decay, by Brian Eason (Indy Star)

 ... The story of urban blight is all too familiar. Indianapolis is pockmarked with 6,800 abandoned homes that stunt property values, attract crime and destabilize neighborhoods. But one of the primary causes is mostly hidden. And it is, in large part, enabled by our own government.

An Indianapolis Star investigation has found that, increasingly, the empty house next door is not owned by a bank or an individual, but by one of many investors, often from out of state, who are enticed by the prospects of cheap homes that can be purchased — sight unseen and in bulk — at government tax sales.

We're doing better addressing the blight we have no plans to prevent.

This article looked intriguing, so I tunneled under the paywall to provide you with this takeaway:

In 2012 and 2013, the building commissioner’s office filed a total of $579,595 in liens, according to Brewer. Liens were filed for any service the city rendered on a blighted property, from cutting grass to razing a structure.

As of Wednesday, the city had recouped $155,284 in liens over the past two years. In 2010 and 2011, New Albany collected about $46,000 in liens, (Building Commissioner David) Brewer said.

No problem; you'd do the same for me, I'm sure. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my shovel.

FUTURE DOESN'T LOOK BLIGHT: City credits proactive approach, funding for increased codes results, by Daniel Suddeath

NEW ALBANY — The number of stressed properties and blighted structures addressed in New Albany over the past two years has risen sharply, according to numbers provided by Mayor Jeff Gahan’s administration.

Higher taxation for blight?

There's an idea. But ya gotta be committed to collecting ...

Blighted buildings face higher taxes; Some dispute list's accuracy, by Dan Klepal (Courier-Journal)

Banks, hundreds of individuals and a high-ranking official in Louisville's housing department own some of the nearly 1,500 blighted properties facing stiff penalties from the city, according to a metro government list.

They are being targeted under a law intended to make it more expensive for people to neglect their run-down property, a situation that can affect home values and public safety.

The law allows cities to require owners to pay triple the amount of their normal property tax bill if buildings have been unoccupied for at least one year and are unsanitary, not properly boarded, vermin-infested or unfit for human habitation. They can also face the penalty if the buildings' taxes have been delinquent for three years.

Louisville's revolutionary conclusion: "Vacant buildings cost taxpayers by reducing the value of properties nearby."

The following article from the Courier-Journal has been making the rounds by e-mail. Those members of ROCK who embrace the concept of "property values" in the argument against free speech might glance at a few of the statistics below.

Meanwhile, have you ever wondered why matters like this elude the platforms of local political parties?

That's easy. They fear platforms the way that vampires fear daylight.

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Louisville targets owners of blighted buildings; Owners may be hit with triple tax bills, by Dan Klepal

The Louisville Metro Department of Housing referred 2,400 dilapidated homes and vacant lots in Jefferson County to the property valuation administrator's
office -- starting a process that could result in owners having to pay triple their normal property tax bills.

The referrals were made under a law intended to make it more expensive for people to neglect derelict buildings or unkempt lawns.

PVA officials say the reason for the law is simple: Vacant buildings cost taxpayers by reducing the value of properties nearby. They also cause more fire runs, according to a study by the nonprofit National Vacant Properties Campaign.

Under department rules, a building or property is considered blighted if it's been unoccupied at least one year, is unsanitary, not properly boarded, vermin-infested, unfit for human habitation or been tax-delinquent three years.

"It's a good program because it really helps neighborhoods, and the city's tax roll," said Tony Lindauer, Jefferson County property valuation administrator. "This gives the owners the incentive to get off the stick."

The department referred about the same number of properties in 2007. But Lindauer suspended the program last year because he did not think there was enough research on the properties to ensure they met the blight definition. There also was no appeals process for people whose property was wrongly cited, he said.

This year Louisville Metro Housing Director Bob French said the city is checking water and electric records for each building referral to ensure they've been unoccupied for a year. He also established an appeal process, which the city's Vacant Property Review Commission will handle.

"This program means it is not inexpensive for (owners) to do nothing with their properties," he said.

Property owners will get letters stating their properties are blighted, and their tax bills will be tripled. The letters go out March 1; the appeal deadline is May 31.

French said blighted buildings have a dramatic impact on their surroundings. Consider the findings of the National Vacant Properties Campaign, which used government grants to study the cost of vacant buildings and lots:

• Houses within 150 feet of a vacant or abandoned property experienced an average net loss of $7,627 in value.

• Blocks with unsecured buildings had 3.2 times as many calls to police, 1.8 times as many thefts and twice the number of reported violent crimes as blocks with no vacant buildings.

• More than 12,000 fires erupt in vacant buildings each year, resulting in $73 million in property damage.

French said property owners who get letters can also call the department if they think their properties were cited in error.

The list of properties is still in draft form -- and French would not release it. However, he did review the list and reported that none of the targeted properties are owned by Louisville metro government.

"Blight affects the property of the guy next door," he said. "For the owners of these properties, this should get their attention."