Toledo on the lookout for new methods to deal with blight

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Toledo is looking for new ways to fight chaos.

A new report on Code Enforcement in Toledo looks at new ways the city can enforce its laws and focuses on those that really clean up the neighborhoods and make the city an attractive place to live.

Dilapidated, shabby houses dot too many neighborhoods in Toledo and the goal for years has been to clean them up. This plan gets a second set of eyes, and there are ways it could be changed.

There is much to choose from in trying to solve some Toledo housing problems. Rosalyn Clemens, director of the Department of Neighborhoods, cites rental properties, some of which are not well maintained.

“There are no standards for rental properties. No rental property standards, you can hang your clapboard, you can rent. There are no annual inspections, there are no annual license requirements, ”said Clemens.

A new report on housing problems and pollution in Toledo was presented to members of Toledo City Council on Tuesday. Consultants noted that Toledo has resources to help homeowners, but there are problems.

“There are some great programs out there, but they are extremely fragmented. Teeny, small programs, each with a different goal, ”said Karen Black of the Center for Community Progress.

Data from Black and the Center for Community Progress shows that most homeowners with problems simply cannot afford to fix the problem. So it would be better to find them resources and treat them fairly than treat every owner equally in terms of fines and citations.

“The fairest, most efficient way to achieve the primary goal of code enforcement is to develop a program that prioritizes and provides residents with sufficient knowledge and resources to ensure compliance,” said Matt Circle from the Center for Community Progress.

The Toledo Neighborhood Department will now assemble a task force to review this report and to find out how to optimize a system where there have been fewer people and budgets but a greater workload in recent years.

“When people come to our city to find their manufacturing facility or their office space and they drive through the neighborhoods, the conditions of the disease and what they see are a big factor in making the decisions,” said Clemens.

What also helps are the dollars from the federal government’s American Rescue Act. Toledo will get $ 188 million. Often times these dollars were mentioned at the meeting in order to potentially give homeowners the resources to do these repairs.

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