Category: News

One City Manager has proactively utilized local media to both educate his citizens on the issue of blight and how the city addresses it, but also issues a strong call for collaboration. For more information,READ MORE

One Ohio community is now ceasing to send warnings or letters etc. “for anyone that has trash laying around their house or high grass”. Per the City Solicitor those warnings are not required. “There’s noREAD MORE

In a recent “Revitalize or Die” blog posting, Jeff Siegler encourages local governments to implement the proper blight fighting tools and take the necessary actions to protect their respective communities.  Siegler seeks to change theREAD MORE

A federal appeals court struck down a 2017 Maryland statute that “allowed for certain groups, including Prince George’s County residents, county or public school employees, federal employees and veterans, to bid on tax-delinquent properties atREAD MORE

Following a request from Roanoke Rapids (NC) councilman Carl Ferebee to survey properties,  Planning and Development Director David Wise provided a comprehensive rundown of the consequences of vacant properties, including Crime Arson and “accidental fire”READ MORE

The “Clean Corps Initiative” has been announced by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “Under this initiative, Mayor Scott is investing $14.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to partner with community and citywide organizationsREAD MORE

Foreclosure often results in abandonment of the property, which often leads to blight. Foreclosure avoidance therefore mitigates the potential for blight! Could forbearance avoid foreclosure? A new report from the Urban Institute advocates for makingREAD MORE

During the height of the foreclosure crisis a proposal was drafted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, MuniReg president Michael Halpern was a proponent of this concept even prior to the release of the proposal. In his unique positionREAD MORE

State Sen. Louis Blessing (R-Colerain Township) has introduced two pieces of legislation to address “corporate slumlords”. OH SB 354 “would bar landlords or property owners with unresolved code violations or unpaid fines from bidding onREAD MORE

Definitely a more frequent occurrence during the foreclosure crisis, however examples like this still exists. Homeowner becomes delinquent on the mortgage, bank initiates foreclosure, homeowners vacates/abandons the property and assumes bank takes possession. However banksREAD MORE

In an earlier post, we featured an article from Western Wayne News (WWN) discussing “VPROs”. That article is part of a series on addressing blight. In the next article, WWN provides a high-level view of howREAD MORE