Blight Fight and Land Banks

Grainy Photo by Evan Brandt

One of several charts showing even Pottstown properties on the auction block at a deep discounts are not selling.

A summit to consider potential remedies for Pottstown's long-standing property problems was held
Wednesday at Connections on High.

The primary methods being presented were: 1) land banks, a relatively knew way to compile and turn-over problem and vacant properties in blighted areas; and 2) enhanced code enforcement strategies that have had some success in Allentown.

Some of the materials distributed at the summit.

Presenters included Winnie Branton, who spoke on behalf of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania; John Kromer, an expert with the Fels Center for Government at the University of Pennsylvania, and Eric Weiss, former director of the bureau of code enforcement and rehabilitation for the City of Allentown.

About 25 people attended the summit, a mix of Pottstown and county officials and representatives of several non-profit agencies including Genesis Housing Corp. and Mosaic Community Land Trust.

We will be publishing more in-depth stories on these presentations in The Mercury in the coming days, but in the meantime, here are the Tweets from the meeting.

(Remember to click the blue "Read Next Page" bar at the bottom of the feed to ensure you see all the Tweets.)