Home-rule plan to target housing problems

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HUNTINGTON -- A home-rule pilot program could give Huntington more tools to address its growing problem with abandoned and dilapidated housing, city leaders said Saturday.

The West Virginia Legislature in March approved a pilot program to give five yet-to-be-named cities more authority to enact ordinances and levy taxes to deal with local problems. Huntington City Council and Mayor David Felinton held a public hearing Saturday morning at City Hall to discuss some of the things they might do if Huntington were selected for the program.

The city must complete its application by Jan. 1, 2008.

Councilman Calvin Kent said several ideas are being considered to lower the number of abandoned, dilapidated properties in Huntington. For example, Kent said the city is working on an ordinance to be included into the proposal to withhold insurance money from a property owner if they choose not to redevelop or demolish a property following a damage claim.

With 55 homes on the Huntington Unsafe Building Commission's demolition list, the problem of properties in disrepair needs to be solved before it spreads, said Charles Holley, the city's director of development and planning.

"Right now we're trying to treat the symptom, but we've got to treat the cancer," Holley said. "We have to look at the whole picture and begin focusing on prevention and intervention."

The city's proposal, which Felinton said will be completed this month, includes a number of ideas from a housing program in Flint, Mich., where the city can take possession of abandoned properties through a program that creates a land bank. While the city might have some properties redeveloped by private companies, others can be used for community purposes such as parks, and others can be given to neighbors as additional property.

"What they have done in Flint is tremendous," Kent said. "The Michigan model is self-sufficient, as I hope we would be."

Felinton noted that the city would need a staffing to handle the process of redeveloping unused properties. He also said the city can look into using money from the Community Development Block Grant to initially fund a new department and purchase the properties.

Huntington resident Thomas McChesney said he appreciated the work and ideas from council, and he also suggested the tax lien process be streamlined. It is not unusual for dilapidated structures to be in limbo for years as local government tries to collect back taxes on the property. Meanwhile, McChesney said, the value of the neighborhood plummets.

"The process needs to be expedited, not only for the city but also the neighbors and voters in the community," he said.

Council members acknowledged that they do not have the power to enact many of these changes. State law limits local governments on taxation and many other administrative and personnel issues.

But the home rule program could allow participating local governments the flexibility to take action.

Under the bill, every city with a population greater than 2,000 can submit a proposal for the pilot program, which would run from 2008 to 2013. Local governments considering a city-city, county-county or city-county merger also are eligible.

A municipal home rule board consisting of city, state and labor officials will choose which cities get to participate in the program by June 1 after reviewing written proposals.

The downside of being in the pilot program, Felinton said, is that the city might have to switch back to the way they previously handled the tax liens after the program ends in five years. Felinton said he hopes state legislation would be passed by that time allowing them to follow the Michigan model.