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The Fight Against Blight Continues
Mayor Waites, Baker Code Enforcement and the Baker Blight Court continue the fight against blight in the City of Baker as pictured below.
What is a blighted property? A blighted property is a physical space or structure that is no longer in a safe, acceptable or beneficial condition to the community.
A property that is blighted has lost its value as a safe space, economic commodity or its functional status as a livable space.
A blighted property is when it’s in a stage of depreciation, not an objective condition, that has been allowed by the owner over time through neglect or damaging actions.
The purpose of Code Enforcement and Blight Court is to provide property owners with due process, the opportunity to understand the issues that has the property in violation of Baker Ordinances, to provide specific guidelines which will bring them up to safe, working order so the property may be deemed no longer in violation of Enforcement Codes, which will hopefully help the property maintain or increase its value and the value of the surrounding properties.
When would someone go to Blight Court? Property owners are referred to Blight Court only after multiple attempts by Code Enforcement to communicate with them about the needed improvements which will make the property safe and/or habitable.
Once a party has been notified to appear in Blight Court for Code Enforcement violations they are subject to financial penalties associated with the failure to satisfactorily respond to the Code Enforcement communications pertaining to the needed improvements and abatement of violations.
Why is it important to improve properties that are considered blighted? The purpose of undertaking these measures is to promote community safety and to prevent economic disinvestment, vacancy and deterioration.
What does disinvestment, vacancy and deterioration cause? Blighted property and/or blighted abandoned property reduce tax revenue for local governments, which can have the adverse effect of forcing the reduction of public services and functions.
These kinds of cutbacks make the area less attractive which fuel further population loss. Population loss also reduces the tax revenues which support local schools thus causing a deterioration in education support.
This also leads to buyers having difficulty obtaining mortgages for homes in neighborhoods with blighted properties and low overall real estate values because of underappraisals linked directly to blighted properties in the area driving down the value of all adjacent real estate.
Over the long-term, lenders rarely approve a mortgage for more than a property’s appraised value, therefore the appraisal gap phenomenon results in market conditions that are more attractive to investors than to owner occupiers - which means the number of rental properties increase while resident occupants decrease - this slows market recovery because it is creating circumstances that are more likely to result in abandonment and disrepair.
Well maintained rental properties can benefit a community. They do require diligent owners who will properly maintain them in order to maintain the character and integrity of the surrounding community.
Quality of Place: Overall, it is best for your bottom-line whether you are a property owner or landlord to maintain your property well. It makes the community more attractive to investment, whether that is investment by retail shoppers or by others seeking to buy or build. What you do with the property you own matters.
As always, thanks to all of those in our community who work hard every day to help make and keep the City of Baker safe and beautiful - we see you and hear you and we are working with you to Move Baker Forward, Together.
 From left to right: David Georgetown - Code Enforcement, Ken Fabre - City Attorney, Nacotia Anderson - City Attorney Office Manager
Photo Credit: Willie Williams
 From left to right: Judge Luke Lavergne, Ken Fabre - City Attorney, Nacotia Anderson - City Attorney Office Manager
Photo Credit: Willie Williams
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