ALLENTOWN – The Allentown Borough Council has adopted an ordinance that will provide municipal officials with the legal authorization they need to take action on abandoned properties that are in a state of disrepair and neglect in the community.
The ordinance was adopted in a 6-0 vote on June 13. Council President Wil Borkowski and council members Robert Strovinsky, Rob Schmitt, Thomas Fritts, Angela Anthony and Johnna Stinemire voted to adopt the ordinance.
Officials said there are about a dozen properties in Allentown that could be considered for action under the terms of the ordinance.
Borough Attorney Greg Cannon previously said Allentown has a vacant property ordinance in place that grants certain rights to municipal officials in specific instances.
He said the adoption of the abandoned property ordinance would permit officials to create a list of abandoned properties and to subsequently pursue a tax sale on a property or to declare it a blighted area.
Enacting the ordinance would give officials power to take action on an abandoned property, such as using eminent domain (condemnation) to take the property from its owner and/or rehabilitating the property, Cannon said.
The attorney said the owner of an abandoned property must be served with a notice by the municipality regarding any action that is being contemplated on his property.
Several residents who spoke during the public hearing that preceded the council’s vote to adopt the ordinance said there are a number of properties in the community that have been vacant for decades.
One resident suggested that an abandoned property can devalue a neighboring home or property and a second resident asked if an abandoned home could be rehabilitated and turned into affordable housing.
A resident asked the council members to proceed with care in a situation that may involve an individual who is experiencing a financial hardship that is preventing him from properly maintaining his home or property.
Mayor Greg Westfall said properties to be targeted will be long-standing vacant parcels. He agreed with the resident who asserted that a vacant or abandoned property can depreciate the value of a neighboring home and impact residents’ quality of life.
“As a governing body, we hope to move forward and make these properties livable. On some of these vacant properties, taxes are being paid. That is the irony,” the mayor said.
Westfall previously said the ordinance will give Allentown the flexibility needed to deal with the issue of abandoned properties.
