By Eugene T. Lowe
June 19, 2006

Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi, Chair of the Task Force on Vacant and Abandoned Properties, opened the meeting by handing out two new publications, the “Mayor’s Resource Guide on Vacant and Abandoned Properties” and “Combatting Problems of Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Best Practices in 27 Cities” of which three of the best practices would be discussed in depth at the meeting.

Lisa Maria Mallory-Hodge, Managing Director of Policy and Consulting of the Fannie Mae Foundation, welcomed the task force members and introduced Alan Mallach, author of the Guide. The Fannie Mae Foundation is the sponsor of the Conference of Mayors Vacant and Abandoned Properties Task Force and also commissioned Mallach to develop the Mayor’s Resource Guide.

In a PowerPoint presentation, Mallach outlined the major sections of the Guide. A key point of the Guide is that mayors can play an important role in turning abandoned properties into opportunities. The Guide instructs mayors to “address the issue in a comprehensive strategy.” Not only should immediate problems be dealt with but there should also be prevention strategies. The Guide says that abandoned properties can be reused in “ways that will serve the city’s long-term economic and community-building goals.”

Greg J. Davies, Deputy Director, Development Department of Columbus (OH) presented the city’s “Home Again Initiative.” The effort was launched by Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman. With $25 million for this year, the goal is “… to fix up or replace the 3,200 listed vacant homes in Columbus. The initiative has five separate strategies: enforcement, prevention, acquisition, rehabilitation, and demolition.

Melissa Barry, Director of Louisville Metro Housing and Community Development, discussed establishing land banks and the city’s “Blight Blusters Initiative.” In the 1980s, Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry E. Abramson started two programs, the Louisville Vacant Property Review Commission and the Louisville Land Bank. The Commission has the authority to impose an “abandoned urban property tax” on vacant property owners at three times the regular rate. It has proven to be an effective deterrent to vacant and abandoned property. The Land Bank has also been effective and has “acquired, managed, sold, and redeveloped more than 4,000 blighted parcels” since its inception. With the lessons of the Commission and Land Bank and the formation of Louisville Metro, the Blight Blusters Initiative has been developed to tackle blight throughout the metropolitan area of Louisville.

Jeffrey Starkey, Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections of Wilmington (DE), presented an overview of the Vacant Property Registration Fee Program. When Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker took office he quickly decided to address the problem of vacant buildings. He appointed a study group and eventually asked the Department of Licenses and Inspections to look into the matter. Legislation was drafted after the establishment of another study group that led to the Vacant Property Registration Fee Program. The fees are based on the number of years a property remains vacant. Each year the property is vacant, the fee is increased, starting at $500 in the first year and building up to $5,000 by year 10. After ten years, $500 is added to the fee each year. By March 2006, the program had collected $331,000. The program is an effective deterrent to owning vacant properties. (Both the Mayor’s Resource Guide on Vacant and Abandoned Properties by Alan Mallach and Combatting Problems of Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Best Practices in 27 Cities are available at usmayors.org.)