Published: August 17, 2008 11:40 pm         

City's blight outlook 'not all bleak'

Just a few years ago, a short residential street in Johnstown’s West End was marred by a dilapidated, vacant house surrounded by overgrown weeds.

That Enterprise Street address now hosts Vivian Kerby’s renovated home, and the weeds have been replaced by neatly trimmed grass and thriving vegetable plants.

“That’s the important part – people taking pride in these properties,” said Bill Kist, a developer who purchased, rehabilitated and now rents the house to Kerby.

“This is an example of a family that takes pride.”

Asked her opinion of the home that she has shared with her son for a year, Kerby said simply: “I love it.”

There’s been no shortage of pride involved in efforts to reclaim Johnstown neighborhoods plagued by blight. What often has been lacking is adequate cash, appropriate governmental policies and practical legal mechanisms to deal with the problem.

But recent years have seen some positive changes: The city’s lists of blighted and vacant homes have shrunk markedly, with private investors such as Kist playing a major role.

And officials are trying to intensify their focus while developing new tools that could aid in the blight battle.

“It’s not all bleak,” said Ron Shomo, the city’s codes and permitting director.

‘Some good progress’

Blight and vacancy statistics tend to be fluid because properties are added to the list even as others are razed or renovated.

But it’s difficult to ignore the improvement those numbers show in Johnstown since

2006: The number of blighted homes has fallen by 37 percent, while houses that are vacant and/or blighted have decreased by 57 percent.

Code enforcement has played a role, as have the city’s annual demolition efforts: The program has razed 32 structures from 2006 to present.

“We’ve made some good progress over the past few years,” Shomo said.

But officials are quick to add that demolition or rehabilitation by private owners also has contributed greatly to that progress.

Kist is not the only person involved in

remodeling homes, but his work has been significant: He has renovated and owns 40 city properties.

“The houses generally are structurally sound,” said Kist, who is based in Conemaugh Township, Cambria County.

“But a lot of times people, for whatever reason, have not maintained the homes.”

Kist said he understands the need for code enforcement and said he has a “positive working relationship” with city administrators. But he also said officials – and residents – must continue to try to work with developers.

“A lot of times people are complaining about properties, but it takes time to rehab them,” Kist said.

Rehabilitation and redevelopment

success stories are not confined to residential parcels.

Both the city and the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority have made headway in the commercial sector.

Officials have been recognized for their work with “brownfields,” former industrial sites that may require contaminant cleanup before reuse.

‘Amicable’ agreements

Examples of brownfield redevelopment include Greater Johnstown Technology Park, Cambria City’s Sheetz store, Festival Park and the expanded Greater Johnstown High School.

In the city’s Kernville neighborhood, newer structures such as the Greater Johnstown Water Authority’s headquarters, Gella Professional Building and CBM Business Machines Inc. have replaced run-down buildings.

“This has resulted from our assemblage of primarily blighted property,” said Ron Repak, redevelopment authority executive director.

Repak added that officials are working on acquiring a vacant lot and an unoccupied house along Napoleon Street to provide space for more development.

But he stressed that the vast majority of these achievements have come because governmental entities have reached “amicable” purchase agreements with property owners.

Unlike the city, Repak’s authority has the power to take property through eminent

domain. But he said the provision is rarely used, in part because it is time-consuming and complicated.

Recent changes in state law – enacted in the wake of a controversial 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Connecticut city – have made eminent-domain proceedings a “nightmare,” Repak said.

“If there were 20 hoops before, now there are 40 hoops to jump through,” he said.

And there’s another complication: Who pays for the studies and legal fees involved in eminent domain, and where is the money for demolition when a property finally is acquired?

However, Repak also said the authority is “willing to cooperate in any way we can” if city officials revive an organization called the Vacant Property Review Committee.

‘The toughest issue’

Behind that bland name theoretically would lie the power, after review and certification, to declare the worst properties blighted and initiate eminent-domain measures.

City leaders formed that committee in early 2005, but it has convened only once or twice.

City Manager Curt Davis said the committee could make a comeback soon. He also is advocating for the development of a five- to 10-year “overall strategy for dealing with blight” throughout Johnstown.

“The toughest issue is how to deal with those properties that nobody legally accepts ownership for,” Davis said.

As officials continue to wrestle with those perennially problematic properties, they also say the best anti-blight strategy is not allowing homes to deteriorate in the first place.

That can involve finding new owners for vacant houses, regularly enforcing code violations and attempting to shake loose “paper” – liens or back taxes – that may encumber a property.

It’s a multifaceted job that keeps city Code Enforcement Officer Tom Oldham busy every day of the week.

“It’s just trying to get the property back to being used and lived in, and doing it before it becomes blight,” Oldham said. “Otherwise, you’ll just have a new set of blight every few years.”



Welcome decline

Johnstown has recorded a significant drop in blight and home vacancy since 2006. A look at those numbers as well as activities scheduled this year:

Blighted properties: Decreased from 805 to 347 (57 percent).

Vacant and blighted properties: Decreased from 180 to 113 (37 percent).

– In 2008, eight homes are scheduled for city-sponsored demolition, 20 are being demolished by owners and seven vacant/blighted properties are being rehabilitated.

Source: Johnstown Codes and Permitting Department

     

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