Chattanooga may take on a new strategy to combat neighborhood blight.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke speaks before the march. A prayer vigil and community walk was held Monday May 2, 2016 at Coolidge Park and the Walnut Street Bridge to stand against the recent outbreak of violence in Chattanooga.Mayor Andy Berke’s 2017 budget proposal calls for contracting with an attorney to serve as the city’s administrative hearing officer, who has more flexibility than an environmental court judge to deal with owners of dilapidated properties. Fines issued by an administrative hearing officer also pack a punch 10 times tougher than the $50 fines repeat violators sometimes face in environmental court.
The problem of decrepit houses probably stands as “the one issue that troubles neighborhoods the most,” Berke said in a recent phone interview. Broken down homes drive down the values of surrounding properties and diminish the interest of those property owners to invest in their houses, he said.
Councilman Chris Anderson addresses questions concerning the conservation of 52 hilltop acres on Hawkins Ridge.Councilman Chris Anderson said he sees this as a solution to a real and ongoing problem associated with bank-owned properties and slum lords, not “the elderly lady who is not cutting her grass.”
Currently, repeat violators see a $50 fine as the cost of doing business that compares cheaply to fixing damaged roofs and porches, Anderson said.