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NEIGHBORHOOD 'BLIGHT' Klamath Falls considers registry for abandoned homes Comment By Holly Dillemuth (Klamath Falls) Herald & News MailTribune.com By Holly Dillemuth (Klamath Falls) Herald & News Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 8:12 PM By Holly Dillemuth (Klamath Falls) Herald & News Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 8:12 PM » Social News KLAMATH FALLS — There isn't much that can surprise Code Enforcement and Community Service Officer Charles Anderson. "Every now and then I'll get an eyebrow raise," Anderson said on a recent tour of the city neighborhoods. Anderson said Code Enforcement staff has fielded numerous complaints of blighted, abandoned homes in the Klamath Basin for the city of Klamath Falls Police Department. The feedback led him to approach council members this month about finding more efficient solutions to the plight of local blight. Anderson said there are 37 properties in Klamath Falls documented as blighted and in a state of disrepair. He is encouraging the city to beef up city codes to reinstate foreclosure procedures and/or a lender registry of abandoned and vacant properties. "We've gotten a lot of complaints about the urban decay here in Klamath Falls," Anderson said, while showcasing photographs ofblighted properties within and outside the city limits. "Essentially our modus operandi has been to board these places up and it's definitely not helping," he said. "It keeps the people who are shooting methamphetamine out of the house, but it's also affecting property values. We've considered the boarded up properties to be the lesser of two evils." Anderson floated the concept to require banks and lenders to register vacant properties with the city. Code Enforcement would maintain a list of the properties, and banks and lenders would be required to provide the property site address as well as contact information for the property owner and the bank or lender. "Some of them, they're not habitable," City Manager Nathan Cherpeski said. "If you can foreclose on something that has some structural integrity ... somebody could actually occupy it," he said. The last property foreclosed on by the city was in 2004, Anderson said. Anderson refers to some housing scenarios as "zombie foreclosures" where the bank or lender involved has evicted the occupant for non-payment, but then doesn't complete the foreclosure process. The result is little to no incentive to foreclose or take possession of a mortgaged property, not to mention a big headache for the city and code enforcement. "I think we need to be more aggressive with some of these homes," Cherpeski said. "Right now, our tools are: We board it up and then the neighborhood continues to complain to us." Anderson said once boarded up, some homes are broken into where partying and drug use ensues, followed by complaints from neighbors. "Without a cooperative owner, there's no criminal charges we can press on these people," Anderson said. "It's just wreaking havoc on our neighborhoods." Anderson emphasized Klamath Falls is a great place to live, but there are "rough patches" just like anywhere else. "I think Klamath Falls gets a bad rap," Anderson said. "Hopefully we can get some renovation going because people are driving (in some parts of) downtown and they think it looks like a third-world country." Mayor Todd Kellstrom and council members expressed interest in the next steps. "You couldn't do 37 or 40 houses in one year," Cherpeski said, of reinstating a foreclosure process by the city. "You might do three to five and try to start a process." City Attorney Joanna Lyons-Antley explained the city would need to take the route of litigation and file a foreclosure in court, before a Sheriff's sale could be held on an abandoned home in disrepair. "Vacant property registration — we're hoping that would have some impact," Lyons-Antley added. "That could be a tool I think we could use. But foreclosure could (also) be a tool. We can leverage our foreclosure into actually creating some action." Cherpeski agreed. "We can't always get to the person who's responsible in our current situation," Cherpeski said. "The vacant registration would be helpful." Anderson sees both sides of the coin on the topic of foreclosure. "I would say the benefit of it would increase the property value around the blighted property by either rehabilitating . or demolishing it," Anderson said. "The cons would be, it's cost-prohibitive." Anderson said more funding could be available to handle blighted properties through state grants. "We'd have to get the state on board to say, this is an issue in Klamath Falls," Anderson said. Cherpeski doesn't want blighted properties to define Klamath Falls. "It's not Klamath Falls, it's certain properties in Klamath Falls," he said. "You worry about your stigma." But Cherpeski and city council members agreed something must be done. City staff will look into a proposal and continue discussions. "If you're the neighbor living next to it, you will love it," Cherpeski said. "If you're the one who has a house that's on the list, you'll probably be mad. "I know there are groups out there that are interested in us cleaning up and trying to get these homes back into a useable condition." By Holly Dillemuth (Klamath Falls) Herald & News MailTribune.com By Holly Dillemuth (Klamath Falls) Herald & News Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 8:12 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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