Neighborhood blight top concern in Prince William County

Comments

 SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED

EMAIL STORY

PRINT STORY

» 102 days ago: Neighborhood blight top concern in Prince William County «

Prince William County (Map, News) - Prince William County is preparing a slew of new efforts to tackle the graffiti, trash dumping and junglelike grass at the county’s thousands of foreclosed houses.

“When the windows are boarded up, [vandals] see it as art project time,” Assistant County Executive Melissa Peacor said.

Neighborhood blight is the most common complaint supervisors are fielding, said Supervisor Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge. “We need to get our arms around it fast.”

But the cash-strapped county has to figure out a way to deal with the blight without overwhelming the limited staff and budget of its property standards enforcement division.

With nearly 7,000 homes in the foreclosure process, the county’s problems are the worst in the state. And the dropping home values associated with foreclosures drove a more than $50 million deficit for the county.

“We’re trying to do this with no money and no staff,” County Executive Craig Gerhart said. “We don’t have a cadre of housing staff that can go out and address this kind of issue.”

In just a week, officials trimmed about $1 million off the estimated $2 million cost for grass cleanup alone, according to a presentation by Neighborhood Services Division Director Michelle Casciato. The county is replacing a current contract in which each lawn costs $259 to mow with one that will cost between $100 and $150, depending on the size of the yard.

Some county officials say that figure remains too high, especially if the foreclosure crisis is expected to result in more than 8,000 landscaping calls to 2,700 homes from Manassas to Woodbridge.

“We need to drive down the cost of the yard mowing,” Principi said. “At $150 a pop, me and you need to be in this business.”

The focus on yards, is just one element, as the police department is getting involved in responding to crime at foreclosed houses.

“It’s not just the grass,” County Chairman Corey Stewart said, “We also have to think about other maintenance issues on these homes, the graffiti and the vandalism.”

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED

EMAIL STORY

PRINT STORY

» 102 days ago: Neighborhood blight top concern in Prince William County «