An effort to restore rundown properties and return them to the tax rolls is being tagged as the “Blight to Life” initiative by the Ford City planning commission.
“If we get rid of some of the blight, I think Ford City will be viewed as a place where people want to live, work and raise a family,” commission member Cody Atherton said. “It's going to promote economic development throughout the borough.”
Part of that process is looking to communities that are farther along in their fights against blight. Atherton said the commission will be reaching out to Kittanning and Arnold in Westmoreland County for ideas about how those communities are working to restore rundown neighborhoods.
In the meantime, the commission will be working to determine which properties the borough wants to buy, fix up and sell.
“Cleaning up the community and fixing blighted properties can encourage others to fix their properties up as well,” said planning commission member Tyson Klukan. “I believe people realize that we live in a beautiful region, but they just need reenergized.”
Kittanning Council President Randy Cloak applauded Ford City's effort to fight blight and said he would be willing to talk to the planning commission about ongoing efforts to do that in his borough.
“If they want to bring our towns back to what they used to be, it's a step in the right direction,” Cloak said.
Kittanning this year bought seven properties from the Armstrong County tax rolls and is working to fix them for resale.
“Neighbors are happy to see something being done. There are rumblings that some people are interested in buying them,” Cloak said.
Atherton hopes to see the same happen in Ford City.
“If we get to the point where demolition happens with these blighted properties, we want to sell them to a reputable buyer, someone who's going to promote the upkeep of the lot,” he said.
That is why Atherton plans to visit Arnold, where the city's redevelopment authority has reclaimed 40 lots in the past year using grant money. The city has returned five of the lots back to the tax roll.
“I don't have all the answers, but I'm more than happy to tell them what we've learned along the way,” Arnold Redevelopment Authority Chairman Jay Johnston said. “We're not selling the lots for a pile of cash. We're trying to get them to someone who will take care of them.”
Removing blighted homes is a growing trend across the state, according to Liz Hersh, executive director of the Pennsylvania Housing Alliance. Her organization focuses on issues such as blight, home ownership and housing policies.
She attributes the efforts to a growing desire to fight problems blight fosters — such as increased crime and decreased property values.
“There is more of a can-do attitude, and you're seeing it in Armstrong,” she said. “There's a fight to crack down on people who bring down other people's property values. I think there's just a new resolve in communities in Western Pennsylvania and throughout the state.”
Julie E. Martin is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1315 or jmartin@tribweb.com.
