Program to Reduce Blight Turns Vacant Lots Into Parks
Vacant lots in Paramount are being transformed into miniature parks under a year-old program designed to reduce blight in the city.
Four parcels along the city’s busiest thoroughfares have been landscaped, at a cost of $5,000 to $8,000 each, and opened to the public.
A fifth mini-park is under construction at Paramount Boulevard and 2nd Street, Assistant City Manager Linda Benedetti-Leal said.
“It is a way to add park space . . . relatively cheap and . . . eliminate blight at the same time,” she said.
Under the program, landowners sign an agreement allowing city workers to take down any fences surrounding the property up for sale. Then, in exchange for assuming accident liability at the site, the city plants grass and installs park benches.
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