NEILLSVILLE MULLS "EYESORE" PROPERTIES
Friday, September 30th, 2005 -- 9:21 AM
It?s a problem that has plagued municipalities for years: what to do about ?eyesore? properties. Seeing beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it?s difficult for government to force property owners to clean up their yard, paint houses or keep their yard looking neat.Thursday on the Mayor?s Office, Neillsville Mayor Diane Murphy said she believes there are some properties in the city that need a lot of cleaning, but these properties were not deemed to be a ?health hazard? during the city?s annual tour.
Neillsville currently has an ordinance stating that requires wood surfaces must remain protected, but offers little means of enforcement.
Murphy said she and the council would be exploring other options.
"I want to talk to some of the other communities and see how they approach this," Murphy says. West Allis, for instance, has an ordiance allowing them to clean up properties, and put the costs against the deed, Murphy says.
"It's not that we want to hurt people. I know there are people that can't afford to do this. But we have to find ways to do this," Murphy says.
The city has applied for $650,000 in housing loan grant money, Murphy hopes some property owners will take advantage and use the money to do needed repairs.
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