Update November 11, 2022
The legislation has now been enacted.
For more information, please click here.
Newly proposed ordinance in Louisville, KY would provide neighbors of a “Criminal Activity Nuisance” the ability to directly confront the owners and present their concerns etc. Sec. 149.05 (B) “Stakeholders whose interests are directly impacted by the condition of the property at issue, shall have the opportunity to be included in such meeting”.
Caveat: The meeting would be convened upon the “written request by the owner requesting a meeting to discuss a Resolution Agreement”
For more information, please click on the following links:
Louisville, KY Council Webpage (with link to Ordinance)
WHAS 11: Metro Council introduces ordinance to crackdown on ‘nuisance properties’
Recent ordinance introduced to New Orleans (LA) City Council, would require the creation of an annual public list of all blighted or vacant city-owned properties, their current conditions and the estimated cost to bring dilapidated properties into fair condition.
Article in The Lens highlights several key points;
- The realization that “Unfortunately, we also get complaints about vacant and blighted properties that are owned by the city of New Orleans.”
- The realization of the true costs of blight – “This does create adverse quality of life issues for neighbors. It contributes to crime, it impacts nearby real estate values, it increases rodent activity and also important to mention, it continues the deterioration of city owned property which in the future could lessen its value.”
- The value of consolidated data to spur progress – “as things currently stand, it’s not that easy to find all that information. She said the database will not only make it easier for the city to manage its properties, but make it easier for potential developers to consider investing in them.”
- The lack of available resources
- Realistic expectations – (Similar to a “VPRO”) – ” the database will not on its own secure dilapidated buildings or put them back into commerce.”
To view the article in its entirety, please click here.
In March, we provided an Op-Ed from the Baltimore Sun with concerns over Baltimore’s planned initiatives to address vacant homes. Now movement has occurred on one of the initiatives – the in-rem tax foreclosure.
For more information from WJZ Baltimore, please click here.
The Center for Community Progress created the National Land Bank Network (NLBN). At the 2022 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, they provided an overview of what NLBN is, the state of land banks in the United States today, and what resources land banks need to thrive.
To view the presentation, please click here.
“Abandoned vehicles have long been a problem in Oakland. The city has increased resources and manpower to address not just cars but the illegal activity they encourage.”
A recent article in Governing discusses the consequences far beyond blight that Oakland CA and many other communities are experiencing as a result of a severe backlog of abandoned cars.
“These abandoned cars, over time they become playhouses for illegal activity, like drug sales and prostitution and other kinds of negative activity that are not conducive to a safe and clean community,” says Cherelle Parker, who just stepped down from the Philadelphia City Council to run for mayor.
Oakland is trying a new approach.
To view the article, in its entirety please click here.
Update January 4, 2023
North Country Now provides an update on this new initiative.
Push underway for state PILOT payments on abandoned properties in Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg city councilors want New York state to make payments on all of its abandoned or vacant properties to the city.
The state has a lot of abandoned property in Ogdensburg and City Councillor John Rishe wants the state to pay the city the equivalent of $8.2 million in tax exemptions.
For more information, please click here.
Gov. Phil Murphy has conditionally vetoed a foreclosure bill that would have made it easier for families and nonprofits to buy homes at sheriff’s sales.
Dubbed the “Community Wealth Preservation Program,” the bill would have allowed:
- “homeowners in foreclosure or their relatives to buy back their home at a foreclosure sale, reducing the required down payment and giving them more time to come up with the cash.”
- “nonprofits to buy foreclosed properties to create affordable housing and created incentives for people to buy abandoned homes and live there, instead of investors intent on flipping them for profit.”
For more information from the New Jersey Monitor, please click here.
To view the bill language, please click here.
A new Shelterforce article discusses the difficulties communities face in to knowing who owns a property due to the increasing numbers of “LLCs”.
“This type of hidden ownership is linked to deteriorating housing and a lack of accountability.”
The article advocates for two actions:
- Creation of a national rental housing registry.
- Support for local rental housing ordinances.
To view the article in its entirety, please click here.
A study by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers found that the tax delinquency of company-owned properties was the only variable that predicted violence in all but four of the city’s 148 neighborhoods.
According to lead author Samuel West, Ph.D., an alum of the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences and an assistant professor of psychology at Virginia State University, “Negligent landlords contribute significantly to violence in Richmond neighborhoods via the environment…..The key finding here was that the company delinquency was a stronger or more important correlate of violence than personal delinquency,”
To access the study ““Comparing Forms of Neighborhood Instability as Predictors of Violence in Richmond, VA,” please click here.
For an overview, please click on the following link from the college newspaper.
What best predicts violence in Richmond neighborhoods? Negligent landlords.
Erie County (NY) Clerk Michael P. Kearns, while in all likelihood not abandoning his “Bank Shame Campaign” announced a new program called the “Good Neighbor Project”. This new project is “designed to hold servicers of vacant and abandoned zombie properties to a higher standard”.
To access the Press Release announcing the project and the partnership with the first loan servicer (Ocwen), please click here.
To access local media coverage, please click on the following links.
WIVB: Erie County continuing crackdown on long-neglected properties
Spectrum News: New project aimed at helping zombie properties in WNY