Council focuses on foreclosures
By Maria Lindsay
Akron City Council has stepped through the front door on the issue of foreclosures and is working on a plan to address the unsightly, vacant homes that often fall to vandalism and maintenance problems.
During the Housing Committee meeting Nov. 5, Chairman Mike Freeman (D-Ward 9) invited Jerry Egan from the city’s planning department and Duane Groeger, housing administrator from the Department of Public Housing, to weigh in on the Report on Predatory Lending presented to Council several months ago.
Freeman acknowledged mortgage lending practices have contributed to the high number of foreclosures in Akron and recognized that many of the solutions are in the hands of state legislators, but he asked city officials for ideas on how to deal with the problems at the local level.
Groeger reported the number of homes that have needed to be secured due to vacancy has tripled to 50 or 60 per month in the past year.
“The vacant homes are targets for vandals and thieves and blights the neighborhood,” he said.
Egan reported vandals come to
the vacant homes to take
the aluminum siding, copper plumbing and other metals,
as well as wiring, which is sold to scrap yards.
The problem is expected to peak
in the next 24 to 36 months, according to Egan.
“We need to get out in
front of these nuisance properties,” Freeman said.
Councilwoman Tina Merlitti (D-Ward
7) urged homeowners facing foreclosure to seek help
from agencies that offer assistance in dealing with
the issue. She added a list of those agencies would
be posted on the city’s Web site at ci.
akron.oh.us in
the coming weeks.
Council President Marco Sommerville
(D-Ward 3) suggested neighborhood organizations should
be approached to assist with the maintenance issues
to protect not only the
home’s value, but that of the neighborhood. He
added a pilot program to address mowing and other maintenance
issues is being developed.
“We should give the contracts
to local groups who have a vested interest,” he
said.
Freeman added the city should
move more swiftly to tear down homes that have been
identified as unsalvageable.
Council is expected to present
a resolution of support to send to state legislators
working on laws aimed at alleviating foreclosures and
substandard lending practices at the next meeting.
In legislative action, Council
members decided to support the wishes of area
residents and oppose an application to transfer a permit
for beer, wine and liquor from one business, where residents
voted the area dry, to another location where no such
restriction applies.
Jaikissoon Singh Enterprises,
doing business as Leprechaun Party Store on South Main
Street, asked Council to approve the transfer of the
liquor permits to a location five blocks down the street
from its original location in Precinct 7A, where residents
voted the area dry Sept. 11. The proposed location is
in Precinct 7C.
“As a Council we will
oppose it,” said Public Safety Committee Chairman
Jim Shealey (D-Ward 5). “We will go with what
the community wants.”
Shealey explained Council
has voted to oppose the request because of the nuisance
complaints associated with the original location of
the business, such as indecent exposure, parking problems,
public intoxication and trash. He added residents in
Precinct 7C are now organizing to place the issue of
prohibiting the sale of liquor in that area on the ballot
at the next municipal election in May.
Shealey stated Akron City Council
does not have the final say in the matter, as the transfer
process involves a public hearing before the Ohio Department
of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control.
Dwayne Huff, the property owner
speaking on behalf of his tenants, Karran Jaikissoon
and Mohini Singh, told
Council the new business is one-fifth the size of the
original and is set up to reduce the problems association
with the original location. He also said the business
owners have learned a “stern lesson on how to
make the citizens of the local area happy.”
Councilman Garry Moneypenny
(D-Ward 10) cautioned the business owners about investing
money into an operation that might be shut down if residents
vote the area dry.
Council will not meet Nov. 12
in observance of Veterans’ Day but will meet Nov.
19 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor
of the Municipal Building, 166 S. High St. Committee
meetings are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
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