Yesterday the Fire Chief tagged several vacant structures on the 1500 block of 9th Street (including the Carter Woodson properties and several--but not all--of the Shiloh properties) as "dangerous." Bright orange signs tag each affected building. No one is permitted to enter the structures except for the purpose of making them safe.
I am unsure of the implications of this action.
PHOTO NOTE: I took this picture with my camera phone. It's a terrible photo: the sign is actually bright orange affixed to the maroon structure.
4 comments:
This is a big step. It is much easier for a police officer to arrest someone on a property that the fire chief has declared unsafe.
Plus I can only assume it makes is easier to charge the church a higher tax rate because clearly they are not using a property that is marked in this way.
Could this be a reaction to the calls made to the DHRA with regard to the cinderblocking of the front entry of the other Shaw property? If so... way to go people! It was my fear the orange signs would be the step just before "accidentally" demolishing the buildings to make way for a parking lot. Luckily, it looks like the ONLY way people are allowed inside is if their intention is to fix them up... fingers crossed.
Gents:
According to the tax records Shiloh is already paying the Class 3 or highest rate for its properties, which is something like five bucks per hundred dollars of assessed value, which is as follows:
1536 - $242,030
1534 - $274,650
1532 - $480,450
1528 - $340,840
1526 - $297,700
1600 8th - $461,690
The Feds pay:
1538 - $357,970
1540 - $483,450
1542 - $320,500
Not much, eh? The corner ruin 1544 is assessed at only $292,180. Pretty absurd for the number of city services needed to keep out the vagrants, vermin and trash.
According to the property records, the sale price of Shiloh's 1540 and 1542 was $420,000 apiece on 15 May 2006. There is nothing on the sale price of the Woodson property to the Park Service. I am sure the Feds gave them more but still can't prove it.
I think the laws should be changed so that it is impossible to make money on appreciation of vacant property.
The property tax on a vacant property should be equal to the amount that the property increased in value the previous year. Say it went up by $100K. The owner should have to write a $100K check for property tax. They would be forced to sell them to somebody who would do something with them. Even with the 5% rate, some of these vacant property owners did quite well when prices were going sky high.
If you think this idea sounds extreme, think of the cost to society of their vacant properties. Why should others have to bear the cost of their greed or laziness? People who own these decaying vacant properties may as well be dumping garbage in your front yard.
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