City is working to reduce nusiance properties by hitting owners in the pocketbooks.
More photos of the Webb property.
Nathan Kelly talks with WTAM's Darren Toms
(Lakewood) - What’s the best way to get rid of blighted properties?
Lakewood city leaders are planning to tear down some abandoned homes, and then sell the land.
New city ordinances allow Lakewood to take action against blighted homes, such as demolition, and then billing the owner for the work. The city simply needs to label them a nuisance and wait to see what action the owner takes.
This property at 1346 Webb Road will be torn down next week using funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. It has been labeled unsafe.
The city took over the property from an out-of-town landlord after an arsonist set it on fire. The home was uninsured at the time. When the owner was forgiven his loan interest, he donated the property to Lakewood with his permission to sell it.
However, the corner lot isn’t expected to draw a lot of interest, and Planning and Development Director Nathan Kelly says it will likely become a side yard to a house next door.
In a letter sent to neighboring residents, Lakewood said that it will "target additional properties, encouraging improvements city-wide. Nuisances like that house on Webb, will no longer be tolerated in Lakewood."
A similar home on Waterbury Road will also be sold soon.
Kelly says they rely on residents to report homes that are neglected and in need of repair.
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