Nancy Anderson is tired of sharing her Verona Road neighborhood with raccoons that have squatted in abandoned homes pocked with broken gutters, collapsed porches and overgrown lawns.
She and others want Penn Hills to ratchet up the fight on blight and get rid of the eyesores that are tainting their neighborhoods.
“It's a fire hazard,” said Anderson of the home next door that has been abandoned for more than six years. “It's surrounded by dead trees that can fall over onto power lines. Now there are animals living in the home.”
She said her husband has caught three raccoons living in the home after they ripped through screens to get to garbage cans on her porch.
Anderson complained to council and asked what could be done to remedy her plight. The answer was essentially, “not much,” even though officials said they have been working hard to eliminate blight.
Last year, Penn Hills tore down 16 homes, including four deemed “emergency demolitions” when they became a safety hazard. But the home next to Anderson's hasn't deteriorated enough to warrant action by the municipality, said Penn Hills Director of Code Enforcement John McCafferty.
“It is secured. It is an eyesore, but the structure is relatively sound,” he said.
Another disappointment
Delores White of Clair Avenue also has complaints about a blighted property near her home. She, too, was disappointed after approaching council in the fall.
The vacant lot overgrown with weeds impedes access to her yard. Plus, people have left trash there, attracting vermin to the property.
“Weeds are intertwined in my fence with poison ivy, and the trees are leaning over my fence,” White said.
She asked council to cut back the trees and spray the poison ivy.
“I do not think it's fair that I pay taxes and keep my property up. For them to let this look bad — that should not be,” White said. “I should not have to pay someone to keep weeds from another property off mine.”
Again, the council explained its hands are tied.
“Normally we don't maintain vacant lots, nor do we go on private property to perform any work. Our work remains inside the right of way,” said Municipal Manager Mohammed Rayan.
An Lewis, executive director of the Steel Rivers Council of Governments and its Blight Busters program, said the these issues place elected officials in a tough spot because of legalities involving abandoned properties.
She said some nonprofits assist residents who “are in distress,” but they're required to get permission from the property owner before performing work.
“The challenge that is faced is when property is privately owned, whoever comes on that property is trespassing,” Lewis said.
Fight against blight
Anderson and White are not the only people who have complained about run-down properties in the community. Planning Director Chris Blackwell said Penn Hills tries to stay ahead of blight. The municipality is a member of Blight Busters, an organization that aims to implement best practices to curb blight.
“We participate in many activities to identify and remediate blight,” Blackwell said.
He cited the municipality's vacant property recovery and demolition programs, enforcement of zoning ordinances, and how it has gotten rid of blight through sheriff's sales — the last step in a property foreclosure.
The municipality spent $106,000 on planned demolition and $17,000 on the four emergency demos in 2016. It has a similar schedule this year and will spend about $100,000 on the demolition program in 2017.
Nine properties were identified at a Feb. 28 public hearing for placement on the 2017 demolition list. But the Verona Road property next to Anderson's again did not make the list.
Municipal Planner Damien Buccilli said the owners of most of the properties being torn down are deceased and their heirs didn't want the home.
The demolition process requires obtaining environmental clearances, notifying the owners or their next of kin, conducting historical surveys and checks for asbestos.
“It's not as simple as getting a bulldozer and knocking a house down, though I wish we could,” Buccilli said.
Samson X Horne is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at 412-871-2325 or shorne@tribweb.com.
