Mvrpc: Dayton Region's Vacant Property Impacts And Obstacles

SECTION ONE Define and Document the Region’s Vacant Property Impacts and Obstacles Supplemental information and more detailed research are necessary to achieve a thorough understanding of the complexities of the region’s vacant-property problems and to ensure that limited resources effectively address the underlying causes. People sense that abandonment is getting worse, but they need information to document its scope, impacts, and social costs. Policy makers could also benefit from further legal and policy analysis about the barriers that prevent practical solutions from being adopted and effectively implemented. Broad policy and programmatic assessments such as this cannot realistically answer all of the important policy questions within such a short period of time. Throughout this assessment process, the team has identified information gaps and critical questions that demand more fact-finding and analysis. The team has also identified the need for additional research about the costs and the causes underlying the region’s vacant-property problem, the impacts of the problem, and the existing resources and programs that public agencies and nonprofit entities currently deploy to address these impacts. By creating an inventory or balance sheet of impacts and assets, the region’s policy makers should be better equipped to shift available resources to the right place. Here is a sample of some of the outstanding gaps in information regarding such impacts and assets:

•

Impacts No comprehensive, accurate inventory of the vacant properties and abandoned buildings currently exists within the city of Dayton, Montgomery County, or its core communities.1

•

The social costs of abandonment and vacancy within the Miami Valley region have not been estimated. The assessment report found studies from other jurisdictions that can provide policy makers with a general idea of these costs, but local data are needed about the costs (both direct and indirect) from the region’s core communities.

•

The issues of mortgage foreclosures and bankruptcies demand further investigation, because prevention of both can reduce future abandonment. Various entities keep statistics, but there is no central process for collecting the information and then performing the critical analysis that is necessary to an understanding of the different

Reinventing Dayton and the Miami Valley Assessment Report (June 2005) National Vacant Properties Campaign

1

phases of foreclosure, the ways in which predatory lending contributes to foreclosures and bankruptcies, and the ways in which both proceedings contribute to causes of vacancy and abandonment.2 •

Different strategies for addressing housing deterioration and abandonment must be designed for rental and owner-occupied properties. As the region considers various vacant-property strategies, such as rental inspection and registration ordinances, it would be important to understand what percentage of housing-code violations is attributable to property rentals (single- and multifamily) and what percentage belongs to owner-occupied homes. Information on the rates of home ownership and rentals throughout the region would also be critical to the shaping of vacant-property strategies. Assets and Resources

•

Strategic allocation of public and nonprofit resources. Local governments and nonprofit organizations administer a diverse portfolio of community and economic development programs (e.g., CDBG, HOME, Weed & Seed, and Brownfields grants) within their respective jurisdictions. Nonprofit organizations, businesses, and foundations also receive funds to work on problems that are related to vacant properties. However, no single source inventories these programs and then maps the funding allocations throughout the region.

•

Possible sources of funding and financing to support the region’s vacantproperty blueprint. Throughout the assessment report, the team mentioned possible funding vehicles for expanding or enhancing the effectiveness of existing vacantproperty strategies. With the exception of the land bank, the team’s policy recommendations generally focus on leveraging existing resources, staff, and programs. The team also noted a potentially large demand for new rehabilitation resources given the region’s aging housing stock (single-family homes and duplexes) and the reliance of local governments and nonprofit organizations on CDBG and other federal funds. Creative analysis of alternative funding sources is needed in order to tackle the wide range of vacant-property challenges, such as slumlords, the rehabilitation of single-family homes, and the acquisition and reclamation of abandoned properties.3

Reinventing Dayton and the Miami Valley Assessment Report (June 2005) National Vacant Properties Campaign

2

POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Inventory all existing housing, planning, social service, and community and economic development resources, grants, programs, and projects. POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Design a GIS map of the level and location of all public and nonprofit investments throughout the Miami Valley (with special emphasis on Dayton and the core communities). • •

• • •

ACTION ITEM: Local universities and/or the MVRPC, working closely with the region’s local governments, nonprofits, and business organizations, could inventory existing programs. ACTION ITEM: Collect data for the past five years (perhaps include data from proposed FY 2006 budgets) on all public and nonprofit expenditures for relevant community and economic development, housing, and planning programs and policies that have some connection to vacant properties and abandonment (ranging from HOME funds to code-enforcement resources). ACTION ITEM: Create a GIS map that overlays all of these resources and programs to determine the location of existing priority communities and projects. ACTION ITEM: Using the data from this inventory and mapping exercise, develop policy goals for addressing the problems associated with vacant properties and abandonment. ACTION ITEM: Develop performance measures (e.g., the number of reclaimed vacant properties and the number of first-time home buyers) to track improvements.

POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Research and analyze further the causes and the social and economic costs of abandonment and vacancy, especially the role played by predatory lending, mortgage foreclosures, and personal bankruptcies. POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Research abandonment and its relationship with the regional economy and financial markets. POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Research further the legal and policy barriers that prevent implementation of the policy solutions proposed in the NVPC assessment report. • •

ACTION ITEM: Local universities and/or the MVRPC working closely with local governments, nonprofits, and business organizations could search for relevant studies, coordinate necessary data collection, and conduct the analysis. ACTION ITEM: Experts from the NVPC, working closely with its host advisory committee, could conduct supplement research on the policy and legal barriers for any of the recommendations set forth in this preliminary assessment report.

Reinventing Dayton and the Miami Valley Assessment Report (June 2005) National Vacant Properties Campaign

3

1

City of Dayton’s Housing Inspection Department performs annual windshield surveys of the building conditions throughout the city for residential and commercial properties. Of the approximately 58,000 structures in the city, in January 2005 they noted 2,747 “hard core” buildings that had been abandoned for six months or more, were mostly boarded up, and likely needed demolition. 2

University of Dayton and Policy Matters Ohio have done preliminary research about the general extent of foreclosures and predatory lending. However, this research does not address whether or not foreclosure led to vacancy or abandonment of the property. 3

Consider a wider variety of development incentives, such as tax increment financing and tax abatements, under the appropriate circumstances.

Reinventing Dayton and the Miami Valley Assessment Report (June 2005) National Vacant Properties Campaign

4