Run-down houses again eyed by officials

Written by Macklin Reid, Press Staff Monday, 18 June 2012 05:23

Run-down abandoned-looking houses engulfed by untended landscaping unmowed knee-high lawns, shrubs that seem to consume porches are again on the Board of Selectmens long-range agenda.

This time, the selectmen dont seem eager to wade into the philosophically muddy waters of using legal penalties to force residents to maintain their homes to standards set by the neighborhood or community.

The law town officials are now contemplating would apply only to properties that no one is living in houses that were foreclosed on, or abandoned by their owners for some reason. They might be in the hands of a mortgage company, or bank.

Im not talking where were going into inhabited homes and forcing people, First Selectman Rudy Marconi told a recent selectmens meeting. This is just vacated homes.

To emphasize the distinction, Mr. Marconi has offered property maintenance law as a replacement for the description blight ordinance that was commonly used when the idea was discussed inconclusively a year ago.

The problem of unmaintained properties, Mr. Marconi suggested, is not simply a matter of aesthetics. A study done at Pace University found that an abandoned-looking property could substantially reduce the value of neighboring properties within sight of it.

For every house that has a view of the vacated house, its approximately $7,500, Mr. Marconi said of the average loss in property value found in the study.

Continue reading here:
Run-down houses again eyed by officials