City's blight fight makes gains
Butler officials' effort to cleanse the city of blighted properties has been so effective that the city is running out of dilapidated structures to demolish.
Butler's blighted building removal program demolished 15 structures in 2012, the most it has torn down in one year since the program began.
Private owners also tore down 11 structures, three houses, one commercial building and seven garages for a total of 26 structures demolished in 2012.
“We're following the same track (in 2013), but I'd say we're on the downhill side of it,” said John Evans, city zoning and code management officer.
“From here, we likely will tear down fewer. I would say, this year, we will probably (tear down) about 12 structures.”
In 2011, the program demolished 10 buildings, while six others were torn down by the owners, two others by banks and one by the city redevelopment authority, for a total of 19 properties.
In 2010, the city demolished four blighted buildings, compared to just two in 2009.
Evans said the city is going through its list of blighted properties quickly, and has budgeted the same amount for blight removal this year, $75,000, as in 2012. The cost of demolishing the properties, ranging from $5,000 to $8,000 apiece, comes from money allocated in the city's capital projects fund.
“The first priority is public safety, then we go from there, which ones become legally available for us to tear down. It's a long legal process for us to be able to do this,” Evans said, adding that the process can take three to six months from identification of a blighted property to condemnation and demolition.
Benefits of blight removal, city officials have said, include increasing property values of neighboring homes, eliminating stray cat dens and ridding the city of unsafe structures.
At least one property demolished by the city, 325 Federal St., has a new home on it, reaping property taxes for the city, another goal of the program.
But even with dwindling numbers of blighted properties, condemned or otherwise unsafe structures neglected by the owners, the city's code enforcement office will find ways to keep busy.
“There's always something that comes up that needs to be taken care of,” Evans said.
Correcting building problems before they deteriorate to blight remains the code enforcement office's top priority. To that end, city Councilman Rick Schontz Jr. said this week he would like to see the neighborhood pride program reinstated.
Such a program would recognize homeowners who make improvements to their properties.
The previous program existed about five years ago. Under that program, the code enforcement office submitted nominations to a committee, which selected honorees in both residential and commercial categories.
“This is the next step, recognizing people who go above and beyond to improve their neighborhood,” Schontz said.
“It's something that I've wanted to do for the past year, but we've been tied up with other issues.”
Schontz said he'd like to see the neighborhood pride program started by April, though he and other city officials are still working on how potential recognition recipients would be identified and chosen.
