National Vacant Properties Campaign

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National Vacant Properties Campaign
Creating Opportunity from Abandonment

• a project of
• Smart Growth America
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• International City/County Management Association
• with support from
• Fannie Mae Foundation
• U.S. EPA

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Why Now?Vacant Properties Opportunities

• Successful Programs across the Nation
• New Research
• Innovative Tools
• Cities on the Rebound
• Need for Affordable Housing
• Attention from
• Smart Growth Movement
• New Partnerships Resources

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Campaign Goals

• Build a Coordinated Movement to Support
  Revitalization Efforts
• Provide Communities with Technical Assistance
• Make Vacant Property Reclamation a National
  Priority

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The Benefits of Partnership

• National Network of Experts
• Technical Assistance, the Latest Research Best
  Practices
• Communication and Coalition Building Tools
• Campaign Seeking Change

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Upcoming Research

• Survey and Analysis of Vacant Property Inventory
  Efforts
• Quantification of Societal Costs of Vacant
  Properties

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Campaign Stops

• April 1, 2003--American Planning Association
  National Planning Conference
• Summer 2003--Las Vegas, NV Technical Assistance
  Workshop
• Summer 2003--Campaign Launch in Washington, DC

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Feedback from New Partners

• Join the Campaign
• Breakout Sessions
• What are your top vacant properties challenges?
  (e.g. title clearance, etc.)
• What would specific tools, services, products,
  and other resources would be most valuable to
  you?

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Vacant Property Challenges

• Overall Economic and Social Conditions
• Poor schools and high crime rates
• Lack of incentives for rehabilitating abandoned
  and vacant properties
• Title companies wont provide insurance
• Low homeownership ratios

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Vacant Property Challenges

• Getting Control of Properties
• Lack of information about properties
• ownership and whereabouts of all potential owners
• title issues and how to obtain ownership
• Clearing title and problems with adjudication
• Difficulty of managing and transferring
  city-owned land
• Low priority and lack of resources for code
  enforcement
• Sheer volume of blighted properties lack of
  resources

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Vacant Property Challenges

• Environmental Challenges
• Abandoned gas stations are a tremendous problem
• Expensive remediation for asbestos, lead and
  other hazards
• Conflicting Visions for Redevelopment
• Lack of consensus on reuse
• Displacement after redevelopment

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Requests for Campaign

• Help with Coalition Building
• Getting regional organizations to collaborate
  with vacant property reclamation advocates
• Outreach to public officials
• Building coalitions of stakeholders to support
  environmental clean up of properties (abandoned
  or not)

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Requests for Campaign

• Communications and Marketing Tools
• Encouragement and inspiration
• Talking points and message development for vacant
  properties, especially rebutting property
  rights rhetoric
• Establish marketing for city and county-owned
  properties
• Vacant properties road show and strike teams of
  experts who can travel to places to address
  specific problems
• Information clearinghouse for potential property
  buyers

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Requests for Campaign

• Information Resources
• Highly accessible web-based resources
• Model policies, programs, success studies and
  laws from different regions across the nation
  (e.g. model state legislation for title
  clearance)
• Technical assistance on setting up land banks
• Compendium of funding and incentives for vacant
  properties
• How to guides about specific challenges, e.g.
  how to begin researching ownership in order to
  purchase a property

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Requests for Campaign

• Technology Resources
• Well-maintained and coordinated databases for
  correlating tax assessors, code enforcement,
  health departments records
• Software for tracking down property owners
• GIS mapping inventorying technology

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For More Information

• John Bailey, Associate Director
• Smart Growth America
• 1200 18th Street, NW Suite 801
• Washington, DC 20036
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email jbailey_at_smartgrowthamerica.org
• Web www.smartgrowthamerica.org

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Coming Soon!

• National Vacant Properties Campaign Roll Out,
  Summer 2003
• Web Site www.vacantproperties.org
• THANKS