The White Picket Fence Effect? City of Paramount Spruces Up 300 Homes

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Interesting piece in today’s L.A.Times we meant to get to earlier, but the day got away from us. It’s about the city of Paramount -- 15 miles southeast of downtown -- and its White Picket Fence Program.

The city, eager to replace chain-link fences, pays 75% of the cost when homeowners put in white picket fences (made of rust- and graffiti-resistant polyurethane).

Paramount resident Jose Luis Romero tells The Times: ‘’I’ve noticed a few more fences have gone up on the street since I got mine. I bought my home in 1994 for about $120,000. Now, I could get $400,000 for it, no problem,’’

More: ‘Paramount has spent $708,380 on the fences in the last decade, about $70,000 a year, city officials say. About 325 homes have been spruced up.

This strikes us as smart and inexpensive. We also like the sounds of this policy: The city creates ‘pocket parks’ out of trash-strewn vacant lots. ‘The city entered into no-cost leasing agreements with the property owners to landscape their lots and accept liability while the land is in public domain, but the owners retain the right to sell at any time.’

Thoughts? Comments?
Photo Credit: LATimes.com