Loiterers. Rodents. Illegal activity. If ever the phrase “not in my backyard” was appropriate, it certainly is in the case of abandoned properties which attract such problems and leave many residents upset.
According to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), there are nearly 180,000 vacant properties in the District that have become eyesores and nuisances to those living and working near them.
One of those is a deserted and disintegrating building on Vermont Avenue behind the Howard University Plaza Towers. It is conspicuous among the neatly manicured condominiums and restaurant on the same corner.
Andy Duffy, owner of Duffy’s Irish Restaurant and Pub next door, said that the boarded, brick building with fading blue paint is not attractive, especially to customers.
“It’s less welcoming and less safe than if someone were to keep it up,” Duffy said.
It is frustrating for Duffy who said that the building attracts unwanted visitors.
“The appearance attracts vagrants. I have seen people break in to get warm,” he said.
Vacant properties are those that have been unoccupied for at least 30 consecutive days.
Reuben Pemberton, administrative officer of the DCRA, said that many vacant buildings are unsightly and detrimental to the community. They attract intruders, become fire hazards, serve as dumps for trash and debris, depreciate the property and devalue the community.
“Some are used for prostitution and drug sales,” Pemberton said. “Most of the time, it is an illegal act or it is just someone breaking in to find a warm place to stay.”
He said that there are an array of reasons why properties are abandoned. Often, elderly homeowners move and leave the maintenance of their house in the hands of neglectful family members. In addition, some buildings may incur fire or flood damage, causing owners to vacate, or they are for sale and remain on the market for a long time.
Howard University senior business management major, Zuri Gracin, has a home off campus with roommates. Down the street from her is a vacant house that has shingles falling off the roof, untamed weeds and boarded up doors and windows. She said that since moving there in August of 2008, the house had been unattractive and appeared to be structurally unsafe.
Fortunately, for Gracin and her neighbors, the unkempt house is now being renovated. She is hopeful that with the new improvements the house will be better maintained.
However, she believes that all other abandoned properties in D.C. should be the government’s responsibility.
“I think the city needs to do something,” Gracin said. “They attract rats and many times are the cause of a lot of danger. I don’t think it’s safe.”
Despite some people’s wishes to have the properties maintained by the government, Pemberton said they do not go out and look for properties, but that they rely on citizens to report them.
Currently, the approximately 2,300 properties registered as vacant are an almost equal mix of commercial and residential structures.
Pemberton wants the community to understand the legal constraints of managing such buildings, saying that citizens do have the right to own vacant properties but that they must be registered with the DCRA. His agency may intervene as well as raise the tax rate if conditions of the property are hazardous and repeated attempts to contact the owner are unsuccessful.
“An owner is given a lot of opportunities to save an investment,” Pemberton said.
What is a nuisance for neighbors only qualifies as such for the District if it meets these requirements: whether or not the place is truly abandoned, if it is open and accessible to the public, if it is marked by graffiti and if there is vegetation exceeding 10 inches.
The DCRA, which addresses the abatement violations, will monitor registered properties and if necessary make improvements such as board doors, repair falling roofs and cut the grass.
The Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Preservation Program can legally acquire property and remodel it to encourage its utilization by owners.
In May, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty held a 60-day trial period to test steel barriers, in place of wooden boards, on vacant properties to prevent entry. According to spokesman of the
DCRA, Mike Rupert, the project was well received and there are talks of its implementation over the next few months.
Wanting to keep the area as attractive as possible, especially to customers, Duffy and his neighbors often cut the grass and pick up trash.
Pemberton understands residents’ frustrations and urges to beautify vacant property, but he advises them to not take matters into their own hands because they would be considered trespassers.
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