Spring is in the air in central Pennsylvania, and positive change can already be felt in our capital city. A renewed emphasis on cleaning up, fixing up and beautification has been evident in City Hall, and, indeed, in many areas of the city, through both private and public initiatives.
It is encouraging to see Councilwoman Sandra Reid working with the Papenfuse administration, and particularly Economic Development Director Jackie Parker, in an initiative to provide as many as 2,000 new trash cans to residents in areas that need them. Backed by significant private donations from PinnacleHealth and others, Ms. Reid has taken a positive first step, not only for the cleanup it promises, but perhaps for the signal it sends of a new era of much-needed cooperation between council and the mayor.
For his part, Mayor Eric Papenfuse has taken forceful action with his emphasis on cracking down on blight, abandoned buildings and property owners who let their buildings fall into disrepair. As reported by Paul Barker in his terrific article in TheBurg last month (“After the Fall,” p. 14), this emphasis has put all property owners (regardless of their standing in the community) on notice that now is the time to fix up properties or turn them over to others who will or face fines and even arrest.
Reporter Emily Previti also wrote an excellent in-depth piece for PennLive (just prior to taking her new position at WITF radio) where she contacted and called out several slum property owners, one as far away as Chicago. Talking to a property owner from his big-city mansion and asking tough questions is exactly the type of reporting that is both needed and welcome. Prospective buyers may think twice if they know the community is aware and watching.
Unfortunately, the problem is extensive in many parts of Harrisburg. According to city records, 391 buildings are currently condemned and in terrible condition. The city owns hundreds more through its Vacant Property Rehabilitation Board, and many other parcels are vacant and thus magnets for trash and weeds, besides generating no tax revenue.
If we are to solve the issue of blight in Harrisburg, it will take long-term, coordinated efforts by local, state and even federal governments to reverse the broader issues that led to the decline in the first place. The underlying causes are the subject of a future article, but, suffice it to say, they stem largely from the fact that these properties are, for the most part, not economically viable and may in fact have “negative value” (in other words, their worth is less than $0.00). The reasons for “negative value” are complex and relate to extremely high local real estate tax rates that drive out investment, distressed city schools, nearby properties of similar condition and so forth. All of these conditions make it economically irrational for any one person to invest in a property where the resulting investment is worth less than what one would need to spend to fix it up or build on it. Correcting these circumstances is a very complex issue that will not be solved quickly or easily.
In the meantime, however, we can and must take concrete efforts to do the best that we can with the situation we have currently.
- Shine the light. Articles like Paul’s and Emily’s that report on specific cases are critical. Many of the offenders live out of town, but it is unlikely that their friends and neighbors will be impressed that the person they know is, in fact, a slumlord and part of the problem in the capital city of Pennsylvania. We need regular reporting with names, addresses and even pictures of the worst offenders. Watch these pages in the coming months for who is helping and who is hurting our city.
- Clean up the trash. Many neighborhood and community groups have been working at cleaning up their local streets and neighborhoods. In addition to her city efforts, our columnist Tara Leo Auchey has been tireless in promoting her “2-Minute Tuesday” clean-up efforts, and we need more people to join her. Numerous community groups such as HYP, Friends of Midtown, the Olde Uptown Neighborhood Association and others have regular seasonal clean-up and beautification efforts. These need to be ongoing and have more volunteer support.
- Fine the offenders. One of Mayor Papenfuse’s first initiatives was to move codes enforcement into the city’s police bureau. This effort to provide real teeth to codes enforcement is an example of smart city government that works. Fines should be real, they should be substantial, and they should be enforced with vigor. The mayor’s revival of a Housing Court is also an encouraging development. If local district justices refuse to enforce the rules, the public should be made aware, and they should be voted out and replaced by ones who will.
- Land banking. The city should work with the state to expand its efforts to acquire vacant and condemned property and assemble them for re-sale to people and entities that will responsibly redevelop the properties and place them back on the tax rolls. The City of York has an aggressive program that regularly gives vacant property to responsible developers for exactly this purpose.
- Transparency at the state corporation bureau. The state should require that a “real” person be named responsible for the formation of a company that is legally allowed to purchase real estate in Pennsylvania. This would ensure that prospective buyers know that they could be personally liable if such property falls into disrepair and violates local codes and ordinances.
- Seek additional state and federal participation through Community Development Block Grant funding and similar programs.
These and other innovative ideas will go a long way to addressing this issue and are worthy of community support.
J. Alex Hartzler is publisher of TheBurg.
