Blight mars community

Blight mars community

Lincolnville gentrification comes up against an urban reality

KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 02/10/08


Life-long Lincolnville resident Linda James has been asking the city for years to address the problem of dilapidated, abandoned homes in her neighborhood that become shelters for homeless and drug houses.

It wasn't until recently, though, that the city began to do something, she said, although city staff members say they have been working on the problem for 15 years.

"(Residents have) been asking and pleading for them to do something for years," she said. "Now with new people moving into the neighborhood, something is happening."

Last week Mayor Joe Boles had city staff draw up a list of boarded up and vacant homes in Lincolnville, an historic downtown St. Augustine neighborhood. His request came after numerous complaints from new residents who renovated their homes and want to see the area change.

There are 50 houses on the list, with about half owned by black families, some who can't afford to maintain the homes, and half owned by investors. The houses are spread throughout Lincolnville and not confined to just one section.

Mark Knight, city planning and building department director, said many people bought property in Lincolnville when the housing market was hot, but since it's cooled they've done nothing with the properties.

"Some of these people were speculators, and they were either going to renovate the home and turn it over or hold onto the property for a bit and then flip it," he said.

The blighted homes create a hurdle for the neighborhood's revitalization, says Peter Romano, neighborhood association president.

"It's a real problem, and I don't see any magic wand you can put over it," Romano said.

City staff says Romano is right: There is little the Code Enforcement Department can do. City staff can act only if the run-down home is unsafe, such as if it were to fall onto a neighbor's house, or if it is a public nuisance, such as a drug house or a homeless hangout. The city can then do minimum repairs to keep the house from falling down and board it up.

The city then tracks down the property owner and asks him to reimburse the city for its expenses. If the owner can't, the city puts a lien on the property, but it can take up to 15 years before the city gets its money back for the abatement, Knight said.

The city spends roughly $10,000 a year on the process, he said. Tearing down the homes would be much more costly and a tedious ordeal because many of the homes are historic.

Knight said the city has been working on this issue for 15 years, but only in the last two years has the problem been thrust into the spotlight. That's when the neighborhood began to be speckled with renovated homes from new residents, most of whom are white.

"As new people moved into the neighborhood, they wanted something done about the abandoned houses," he said. "Code Enforcement deals with it a lot, mostly in Lincolnville."

James, who is also head of the neighborhood's Crime Watch, believes that black residents were ignored and the problem was shoved to the side, until now.

"For years, black residents wanted something done," she said. "Now that white residents are moving in, they're demanding something is done."


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