Urban Decay, Urban Rot, Urban Blight - No more excuses

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As we have had so many comments about run down properties and owners neglecting same, I wanted to talk about this most important problem we have in Lake Worth.  It is not jobs; it is not development; it is not the high cost of electricity. It is blight caused by the acquiescence and apathy of many among our population. It is now a cultural mentality that prevails throughout the city and has even trickled over to neighboring property owners. Yesterday one of the houses I have featured as Mess of the Week hung clothes to dry on the bushes.  It is a Third World mentality and we have allowed this to continue. We, as a city government, are to blame.

An urban area is characterized by a higher population density. We have the highest density of any city around--according to the 2010 census, we had a population of 34,910 with density at 5,945.2 people per square mile. As an example of comparison, Wellington has 1,230 people per square mile and West Palm Beach has 1,833. With high density comes slum and blight.

Slum and Blight are on the minds of all of us in Lake Worth. It affects every single neighborhood in some fashion. Certain neighborhoods that have catered to a lot of rentals and immigrants have the biggest problems. Slumlords have been allowed. When the economy tanked, our properties devalued faster than neighboring towns because of our older housing stock and our smaller houses. During the false boom, when everyone was making money, our city attracted more immigrants and poor people looking for cheap housing and jobs, some living 10 or more in a house. Many landlords did not take care of their properties (still don't) and looked the other way--but the biggest culprit was the City and it got out of control.

As a city gets older, and ours is 100 years old, many of the properties are not maintained and become run-down, foreclosed upon and end up abandoned.  Lake Worth has attracted the poor and people who can't afford to live elsewhere. They are forced to live in properties that are without appropriate maintenance, where slumlords rake in the rental money and do little in improvements or yard maintenance. Eventually, these properties go to slum and blight.  The look and condition of these properties, as well as their use, has blighted our city.

The city in conjunction with the CRA, attracts more poor people with 'affordable' housing giving them rental subsidies. We are not doing anything to get rid of the slum and blight--all we have ever done is talk about it.  Dee Mcnamara makes a good point: "The CRA is inflicting low income housing and rentals on Lake Worth thus decreasing the tax base of Lake Worth, undermining its sustainability!" The CRA must concentrate on its mission of eradicating slum and blight, not more affordable or rental housing that eventually leads to more blight.

The problem of slum and blight is systemic and Code Enforcement can't do its job. There are not enough people to ever tackle code enforcement in this city--the problem is too great. It has been allowed to decay to this extent. We even see blight in the better neighborhoods where some are fortunate to live and wonder how some guy living across from us can neglect his home and ruin our street. Sometimes we are part of the problem knowing that a fresh coat of paint or giving a little TLC to our yards would help but we procrastinate thus making the property worse over time. With the city's policy of tackling the safety issues first, this allows the blight to grow like a disease throughout our city. The city is more concerned with someone who did not pull a permit to get repairs done for  painting, or repairing that broken down fence, instead of just allowing them to do the work.

With high density, the slum and blight is more prevalent and will continue until we get serious about the problem, set our priorities and come up with a solution. Instead the city worries that someone doesn't have smoke detectors. Let's face it, and it's sad to say, some of these places should be bulldozed. The city is one of the biggest offenders--just take a look at our cemetery. Yesterday it was cleaned up for Memorial Day but even the commander said he finally found a grave of a long lost buddy that had been covered up. Should the City not rule by example? You could have a weekly volunteer clean-up in this city and it would all look the same two weeks after the work. People have no pride in where they live and want/expect others to do the work for them. The accumulated strewn trash at our beach yesterday was unbelievable.

We must remedy the situation if we are to survive as a healthy city--to increase our property values thus bringing more ad valorem to Lake Worth. Slum breeds crime. Concentrating on eradicating slum and blight eventually will bring down the cost of public safety that is taking 70% of our operating budget. In so doing, the benefits which will result from cleaning up our slum and blight will accrue to all the inhabitants and property owners of Lake Worth.

Politicians have run on the platform of eradicating slum and blight but nothing ever changes--every  neighborhood is worse. Isn't it time to seriously tackle this problem?  If we don't, no one will want to come here to buy or invest. We won't have to worry about a 4 story hotel versus a 6 story one. Forget about the Park of Commerce. We will never have the money for that dream. We will never be able to generate enough tax dollars to fix the potholes. It's that simple. Scott Maxwell says he has a plan.  As three of our commissioners have filed to run again, it is time that we put pressure on them to tackle the most important problem that we have.

Time to wake up, smell the roses--

no more excuses.