There is an old saying that “if you love someone, set them free; if they come back to you, it was meant to be.” As Better Help explains, this phrase “deals with a struggle that hasREAD MORE
Center for Community Progress American Rescue Plan Act Funding for Blight
Update January 7th The Center for Community Progress issued a press release regarding the U.S. Treasury Department’s Final Ruling clarifying that ARPA funds may be used by communities to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated propertiesREAD MORE
2021 AACE Conference Innovative Code Department Award – Round Rock TX
The 2021 American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) Conference featured several awards and recognition. The Innovative Code Department Award was awarded to the City of Round Rock, TX and the Code Officer of the YearREAD MORE
Monessen PA Chooses Carrot over the Stick
Monessen PA is, essentially, giving vacant homes to anyone who is willing to repair them. And two officials overseeing the plan said “it is working.” For more information please click on the following links. LocalREAD MORE
CCP Report on Land Banks and Community Land Trusts
A new report from the Center for Community Progress titled, ““Land Banks and Community Land Trusts (CLT): Partnering to Provide Equitable Housing Opportunities Now and for Future Generations” discusses land banks and CLTs, promising modelsREAD MORE
CCP & Federal Reserve Study “Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession”
The Center for Community Progress and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland released a new report titled “Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession”, containing articles by national expertsREAD MORE
Albany County (NY) Blight to Betterment Task Force Report
The Task Force consisting of legislators, staff and community stakeholders was convened in June 2020 and has released their report. Per Co-chair Matt Peter (County Legislature 5th District – D) “blight is both a countyREAD MORE
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative – Springfield Illinois Analysis
City of Springfield, IL recently utilized Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Fellow Megan Willis-Jackson to provide an analysis, and recommendations to address vacant and dilapidated housing. Recommended changes included changes to; Inspection processes Legal processesREAD MORE
JAMA Study Municipally Funded House Repairs and Crime Rates
Recent article in the Wall Street Journal, discusses a July 2021 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that “found a tight link between municipally funded house repairs and a drop in crimeREAD MORE
Pennsylvania House Bill 1827 Focus on Code Enforcement
Pennsylvania once again is at the forefront in the fight against blight and with new proposed legislation shines the spotlight directly on code enforcement. House Bill 1827, would give local governments the opportunity to applyREAD MORE
CA SB 296 Code Enforcement Safety Law
California Governor Newsom signed SB 296 “Code enforcement officers: safety standards” into law. “The Legislature finds and declares that code enforcement officers are disproportionately at risk for threat, assault, injury, and even homicide due toREAD MORE
Ohio Neighborhood Protection Act
Newly proposed legislation would require vacant property owners to file contact information with the county auditor’s office. For more information, please click here.