Battle against blight outlined / By Martha Knight

SMETHPORT—The past summer McKean County has seen the beginning of a serious attack on the problem of blight—not urban blight, not tomato or potato blight, but rural and small community blight, where it can be a serious impediment to prosperity and community life.

Last Tuesday night 27 representatives of county government and municipalities gathered at the Court of Angels in Smethport to take stock of progress to date, and discuss some of the McKean County Task Force on Blight’s findings. 

Since being appointed by the McKean County Commissioners, the group has been assisted in its fact finding and planning by consultant Chris Gulatta of the Gulatta Group, Carlisle.

The key county agency in the anti-blight effort is the McKean County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, headed by Dusti Dennis, executive director.

The short history of the task force and an overview of its ideas at this point were provided in a PowerPoint presentation. Dennis and the committee had a lot to show for a few months’ and three meetings’ worth of work.

Prevention strategies being recommended include greater use of magisterial District Justice courts, where enforcement can be accomplished of various measures against neighborhood decay.

Some municipalities do have property maintenance codes in place, some have a variety of separate measures dealing with different aspects of blight. The task force recommends a comprehensive, unified code, and provided copies of a draft of such a measure.

The McKean County Tax Claim Bureau can function as part of the county’s and its municipalities’  method of dealing with deteriorating or abandoned properties. When owners stop paying county, municipal and school taxes, properties can be listed for judicial sale and can wind up in the county repository, where they may be sold. 

The task force urges enactment of rules to keep such properties from falling into the hands of owners who may prove no more responsible than previous ones.

Prospective buyers with records of code violations, tax delinquency and losing their rental housing licenses would be disqualified from bidding at tax sales or buying from the repository, as part of the anti-blight approach outlined.

Scofflaws among property owners, or those who flout municipal codes concerning property safety and maintenance, could be “ticketed,” and might face criminal sanctions . The office of the District Attorney would be asked to assist in developing that past of the blight-deterring effort. Local codes might need to be enacted, or revised, to provide the framework for such enforcement.

A key piece of state legislation that can give communities more control over blight is Act 90 of 2010. Copies were provided to attendees. 

Municipalities will be encouraged to enact Act 90 locally. Its provisions could then be invoked against owners who failed to correct code violations within six months. Rental licenses could be denied, as could various permits.

Another state law, dating to 2008, allows private concerns or municipalities to petition the Court of Common Pleas for appointment as conservator of specific blighted properties so as to rehabilitate them. Conservators would also be authorized to demolish properties.

The task force is interested in the possibility of creating a land bank under state laws. A land bank could trump other bidders at a judicial sale, and repurpose properties for development consistent with the zoning that governs their locations.

Creation of a land bank would be the subject of a feasibility study, the task force said.

Also, the task force would like to see a county Blighted Property Review Board appointed by the county commissioners. 

Municipalities could refer blighted properties to the Board, which could authorize the Redevelopment Authority to acquire the properties under eminent domain proceedings.

If some of the recommendations sound aggressive, others were more carrot than stick. Tax incentives could be considered by municipalities, school districts and the county itself, with owners encouraged to invest in improving blighted or blight-threatened properties by having resulting higher assessments “phased in” over time.

The task force presented four plans, A through D, which constituted different levels of proactivity in the battle against blight. These ranged from a three-pronged Plan A through a full-blown ,six-element Plan D.

Funding would be available for certain projects through Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) channeled through the county, as well as grants from private foundations and corporations.

In attendance were task force members and officials from McKean County government, Kane Borough, Hamlin Township, Smethport Borough, Foster Township, Eldred Borough, Lewis Run Borough, Lafayette Township, Bradford City and Otto Township.