GREENFIELD — Abandoned or vacant houses can be “a real drag on a town,” the Franklin Regional Planning Board was told at its monthly meeting.
But how this problem is dealt with can be tricky, planner Mary Chicoine said as she presented a new “toolkit” aimed to help local officials deal with the issue systematically.
The properties are more noticeable along a main road or a scenic byway than tucked away in the backwoods, she noted, and every town has one or more. But the problem can be particularly difficult and costly for small towns to deal with, since they may not have dedicated planning, health or building inspector staff to deal with the issue.
The Council of Government’s 42-page online booklet was prepared to fill a void, Chicoine said. Towns taking no action can allow the problem to worsen, leading to vandalism, squatters, fire hazards and infestations of rodents and other vermin. These can threaten nearby properties. The problem buildings can often be identified as neglected from a street view, she added.
While abandoned commercial or industrial properties might fall under a federal Brownfields hazardous waste cleanup program, where there is potentially funding for redevelopment, towns are left to pursue abandoned houses with fewer resources. The state Attorney General’s Office is available to assist and may help with legal expenses, especially if the towns have documented that they have pursued action on their own.
But the key, Chicoine said, is for towns to develop a plan, with support from the health board, building inspector, fire chief and especially residents, so actions are not construed as being imposed from the outside.
The ball is in the town’s court how aggressively to pursue the issue, she added, and she emphasized that the best approach is an informal approach that seeks voluntary compliance from property owners. Ultimately, towns can bear the cost of responding to fire, police or environmental hazards that can develop from vacant properties.
“We’re trying to get towns to do inventories that prioritize properties, and then to develop a program, taking a more organized approach, with standards, instead of just picking on people,” said Glen Ayers, Franklin regional health agent, who did not attend the board meeting.
The Council of Governments has been helping Charlemont, Heath, Colrain, Deerfield, Orange and Shutesbury in setting up plans and committees to deal with abandoned homes, and has set up templates as part of the toolkit to assess the properties.
According to Chicoine, Greenfield has compiled a distressed property listing of about 125 properties through its building department, and Montague and Athol have distressed housing rehab programs.
Some board members raised questions about trying to arrange for voluntary compliance on neglected properties where someone may be living, but not mentally competent or otherwise incapable of dealing with the problem. Or, the person may not have the financial resources to make needed repairs.
Chicoine said that’s a good reason for taking an informal approach that can involve dealing with the person and looking to the Franklin Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority for a rehabilitation loan or a social service agency for assistance.
“It’s a tough sort of balancing act,” Chicoine said of trying to negotiate with some property owners. “This is at the discretion of the town,” she said, and the town may decide that a particular property is not a priority. “It could be a difficult situation.”
Another concern, raised by Leverett board member Richard Nathhorst, was that town action may represent an intrusion.
“It seems to be the potential to sweep up properties just because they’re vacant. Somebody may own a property, may have plans for it, but not have plans for 10 years. … It strikes me that there’s some potential for abuse here. … What business is it of the town?”
“I can’t imagine why a town would want to do that, and we’re certainly not suggesting that a town would do that,” said Chicoine.
Planning Director Margaret Sloan said a town wouldn’t be interested in taking action as long as taxes were being paid and there didn’t appear to be any code violations. Nathhorst responded, “I’m not so sure of that. When you’ve got developers and real estate folks involved, and you’ve got property that’s sitting there, they’d really like to see it become available for them to flip. I’m not so sure that people couldn’t be victimized.”
Some of the vacant properties, it was noted, may have been foreclosed on and may be owned by banks and simply not maintained.
On the Web: https://bit.ly/2sjEn23