Jackson Free Press

Jannette White, 51, has lived on the same plot of land on Smith Robinson Street in the Virden Addition for the majority of her life. In 1987, White built a house next to her mother's house so that she could be her caretaker. Her mother died in 2006.

She points to a boarded-up home across the street at 2815 Smith Robinson St., which White says has been vacant since 2001—10 years. Faded "for sale" signs lacking a contact or realty company are in the yard. White says she doesn't know who would buy the property because the house lacks floors and has structural damage. She says the home has attracted drug deals, transients and even stray dogs.

"It's a hot mess across the street," White said. "... Before, there were four or five dogs there, and I wouldn't let my grandchildren go outside."

White attended the city's Ward 3 meeting Aug. 16 armed with a photo album that she calls the "famous book." In the book, White posts pictures of derelict properties to show to city officials. During the meeting, she showed the city's Solid Waste Division Manager Vernon Hartley a property that had accumulated trash, and the next day, the city picked it up.

"I feel like we got something accomplished," White said.

An unidentified woman answered the phone number listed on the for-sale signs at 2815 Smith Robinson St., and said this reporter had dialed the wrong number. The Hinds County tax rolls list Peters Bryce Financial Corp., a real-estate firm based in Utah, as the owner of the property. Last year, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, banned the firm from conducting real-estate business there after it repeatedly did not appear at hearings about neglected property. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the company owned 40 properties there and owed more than $4.7 million in fines for unkempt properties. The company owns six properties in Jackson.

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said in his July State of the City address that his administration was "redoubling" its efforts to clear neighborhoods of burned structures and speed up the backlogged cases of derelict properties.

Last year, Mississippi enacted legislation that allows the city to impose penalties on property owners who break the city's codes. Before, the city placed tax liens on properties for cleaning and home demolition, but property owners did not have to pay the fines until they sold their property. The new law adds the fines to the owner's property taxes, due Feb. 1 each year. The city has also instituted a hearing officer to determine fines or give property owners more time to restore their homes.

Last week, the Jackson City Council approved an order for the city to hire contractors to clean up 77 dilapidated properties. The city's Community Improvement Division also conducted hearings on 237 more properties by the end of the month, and those soon will be sent for the council's approval to hire contractors to clean them up as well. The majority of the properties require weed removal or windows boarded up.

Despite the city of Jackson's push to clean up property, Claude Smith, manager of the Community Improvement Division, said that the city has not demolished any homes this year. It has, however, removed eyesores such as junky cars from property.

For the past year, the mayor's administration, the Department of Planning and Development and the Community Improvement Division have worked to streamline and improve its code-violation process. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant program provides funds for demolition and boarding up homes. The city currently has $450,000 in CDBG funds, which will likely carry over to fiscal-year 2012, which starts Oct. 1.

"I think the process that we are in now is going to work a lot better and be more effective," Smith said. "It gives us more time to work a case. Before now every time we had an issue, (or) a technicality would come up with the case, we'd have to start it over."

Smith added that the city should start demolishing properties within a few weeks.

The city's strategy is to not just clean up one property in an area, but to tackle neighborhoods and clean all derelict properties at once. Code enforcement officers regularly patrol areas and receive tips from citizens about suspect properties. The officers locate property owners and notify them of violations before a scheduling a hearing. Once hearing officers conduct hearings, the city council must approve the properties for clean up. Property owners have 10 days from the date of the hearing officer's determination to appeal the process. The city's environmental review board and building officer also review code violations for approval.

Fine are between $1,000 and $1,500 depending on the property, and property owners must also pay the contractor's fees for the clean up or demolition.

Jackson Planning and Development Director Corinne Fox said that if homeowners aren't notified properly, the city could face costly lawsuits. She said all parties involved ensure that the process runs smoothly and avoids litigation.

"We redid the whole process in terms of notification and going through the proper procedures," Fox said. "We have always gone through proper procedures, but we did not have a designated hearing officer, and now we do have someone who is designated just to hear these cases, (who has) been able to speed up the process somewhat. ... We determined that we need to be more thorough in our notification process, and that's what has taken so long."

Smith said that the majority of derelict property owners move away or have inherited land from deceased relatives. To find the owners, officials research the tax rolls to determine the last person who paid property taxes. Smith said this can delay the process, but even if the city has exhausted all efforts to contact unresponsive property owners, officials can still proceed with the clean up process.

"That means that we lose all hope of recouping our money for the expense of the property," Smith said.

Previous Comments

ID

164821

Comment

I would suggest several people from the neighborhood coming together and forming a Neighborhood Association or something. The city should then give the abandoned property to the residents of the neighborhood and let them clean it up and fix it up and then rent or sell it for the benefit of the community. Easier said than done, but worth trying. Properties could be a community center if not a source of funds for future cleanup and improvements. Those that are demolished could become community gardens. Make the property tax-free for three to five years to help out with improvement. Government can't do everything. The People - residents of the neighborhood - have more power to make positive change.

Author

BobbyKearan

Date

2011-09-02T10:01:43-06:00