(The Center Square) – A new law signed Monday gives Pennsylvania counties a new tool to address blight.
Now, officials can apply a $250 fee to foreclosure sales that must support a demolition and rehabilitation fund used to tackle blighted properties.
“Rundown and abandoned properties are a drain on local property values and erode the tax base,” said prime sponsor Sen. Jim Brewster, D-Monroeville. “This bill will help revitalize neighborhoods while reducing property taxes by shoring up property values.”
The problems are not new; Pennsylvania has had a Statewide Blight Task Force since 2006. The commonwealth has statewide regulations covering building codes – but doesn’t have a uniform property maintenance code. Instead, towns, boroughs, and cities decide whether they want to establish a code and what form it will take.
The city of Erie established a blight fee in January, charging owners $300 every six months. Local leaders worry, however, that blight driving down neighboring properties can lead to disinvestment, putting a heavier burden on government funds to clean up dangerous places.
Creating land banks to buy, rehab, and resell blighted property has been another way to deal with deteriorating buildings, and the House has also passed a bill to expand their use, but finding investment to underpin the banks’ work isn’t always forthcoming, nor are buyers.
Brewster’s bill cleared the House 109-93, with all but eight Republicans opposed. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it Monday, along with nine other bills that came across his desk.
Meanwhile, legislative action has slowed to a crawl as leaders negotiate the state’s annual spending plan – now nine days past due.
Anthony Hennen contributed to this report.
