County to discuss problem of home vacancies tonight
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By Cheryl Chumley
Published: May 27, 2008
Citizen action is what's needed to combat Prince William's growing trend of housing vacancies, said the county's Neighborhood Services Division, and the hows, whys and whats of a new plan to compel just such is scheduled for presentation tonight.
"Vacant homes tend to progress from tall grass to broken windows, which must be boarded," according to a county press release on the issue. "Graffiti, criminal activity, structure deterioration and blight often follow."
Concerned residents ca
report homes that have fallen into this state to the county via a form posted on the division's Web site, called "A Neighborhood Eyes and Ears Checklist for Vacant Houses." Staff will then follow up the report with a visit to the property, the county reports.
It's this resident reporting initiative that will be presented to the public tonight at 7 p.m. at the McCoart Building, in the Potomac Conference Room. Called "Vacant Houses, County Resources and Citizen Ac-tions," the presentation is aimed at reversing the trend of abandoned and emptied homes that has left the county with about 7,000, according to recent Neighborhood Services statistics.
The complaint system is anonymous for those who opt.
Right now, the menu of reportable code violations is extensive. Aside from tall grass—the county has a
ordinance that limits grass height to 12 inches—and broken windows, complaints can target vehicles that are parked on grass and gravel as well as vehicles that do not display current state registration tags and county stickers.
Furthermore, anonymous complainers can also report when neighbors erect fences or build decks, garages and housing additions without proper zoning approvals; alter housing systems like cooling and electrical without build-ing permits; operate home-based businesses, to include child day care, without the necessary occupation and special use permits; leave trash and furniture outside; and exceed occupancy limits for their particular homes.
The meeting is open to the public, but registration is requested by calling 703-792-7018.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.
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Posted by ( cobra ) on June 03, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Do you seriously think these people have any respect for zoning laws? Get real. Does not matter if they are legal or illegal. They care nothing about the community. They are here to take and give as little back as possible. And good ole Phdeebag just keeps hating Americans. Us good Old White Boys will ensure that your boy Obama is not elected in November. You can count on that.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on May 29, 2008 at 6:35 pm
PWCMom is correct. Many of the issues attributed to the myth of illegal immigrants only could and should be resolved by commonsense zoning and health laws. The other side of the coin is that landlords will often not rent to undocumented families. Back to my Documented Illegal Immigrant card idea to make steps towards solving our community problems. Best way to get them from living “30 to a house” is to provide a path for documented income and therefore rental options. For this we have to change our thinking from exterminating illegals to problem solving. Not a sermon, just a thought.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 29, 2008 at 12:42 pm
From posting on this site, by the anti-immigration kooks, I though the resolution was working and that the neighborhoods were all getting back to sa “normalcy” of great Southern life and culture; Like: tall uncut grass, boarded up windows, graffitti, junk cars, washing machine w/ wringers on the front porch, dog ties to a stake, pickup truck with gun rack, beer bottles on ground, cars being worked on, outhouses, clothes lines, broken vinyl covered recliner on porch, gutters to catch rain water for washing etc. Whee!!! Getting back to redneck, hickville, and wbeing good ol’ boy white trash. Should draw tourists like crazy.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 28, 2008 at 4:15 pm
The BOCS, HSM, Letiecq, et al scum have no one to blame but themselves for so many foreclosures. So discuss the resolution - if you hae the courage.
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Posted by ( kpcad ) on May 28, 2008 at 10:33 am
I agree completely with PWCMom.
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Posted by ( PWCMom ) on May 28, 2008 at 7:17 am
The problem is that the zoning regs themselves are outdated and need to be brought up to date. At present, the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC) allows for 50 square feet PER PERSON in a residence, and that area includes every room with a window, except for kitchens and bathrooms. The zoning office verified this, and uses this standard themselves. With this standard, a home with 2000 square feet of space as described above can house 40 people legally! And the zoning regs don’t address this unless it can be proved that the people are all unrelated (and if they are, the regs say no more than 2 unrelated people are allowed).
Manassas City tried to address this issue by defining family, and it caused all kinds of issues. How about revising the standards to tighten them up or better yet, limit the number of people in a house to the area originally designed as sleeping space as per the building plans? Variances and permits can be required for any needed situations, but must be approved by the County.
County BOS-this is an issue which needs to be addressed and resolved!!!
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