New Anti-Blight Rules, Penalty Approved
The City Council approved anti-blight rules that take aim at shabby neighborhoods.
The council decided to forbid abandoned and half-built buildings, neglected paint jobs, dangerous holes in the ground, severely cracked driveways and overgrown lawns.
The fine for parking on front lawns was raised from $10 to $35.
“We have to be honest with ourselves,” City Administrative Officer Ken Hampian told the council.
“There are parts of some neighborhoods that we have now that look flat-out bad,” he said.
But some residents said the rules were burdensome.
“I just wanted to plead on behalf of a lot of these people,” Evelyn Talmage said.
“Some of them have two or three jobs in the family, and they don’t have a lot of time to take care of these things.”
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