Sick of Derelict Properties?

Most of us in this neighborhood have at least one derelict nuisance property on our block. If you're fed up with the DC government's indifference and incompetence in dealing with the problem, here's your chance to vent:

Councilmember Mary Cheh will be holding a public oversight hearing on vacant and nuisance property administration and enforcement at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3 in the 5th Floor Council Chamber of the Wilson Bldg. at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. According to the notice, the hearing will "explore a range of issues, including the outcomes of vacant and nuisance property cases, enforcement against serious and repeat violators, and best practices in vacant and nuisance property administration and enforcement. The public hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the fifth-floor Council Chamber at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Please note that this hearing was originally scheduled for Monday, July 2, 2007, at 10 a.m. The hearing date had to be changed due to a scheduling conflict."

Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should contact Aukima Benjamin, Staff Assistant to the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs, at 724-4902 or via email at abenjamin@dccouncil.us. All witnesses will be permitted a maximum of five (5) minutes for oral presentation. The witness list will close at the end of the business day on Friday, June 29, 2007.

If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted either to the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs, or to Ms. Cynthia Brock-Smith, Secretary to the Council, Room 5 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004. The record will close at the end of the business day on Tuesday, July 17, 2007.

Comment: In my view the system is still broken, despite some recent improvements in the regulations. It takes obnoxious persistence to get a derelict on the vacant property list, and that's just the beginning of the process. There are many loopholes for a scofflaw owner to avoid getting on the list (e.g., getting work permits for work that never gets done), and even if the property does get listed, there is no assurance that it will have the Class 3 (vacant property) tax rate applied that hikes the tax to five times the normal rate. There is a gap between the inspection agency (DCRA) and the tax agency (OTR) and the connection seems to fail more often than it works. And then there are still multiple ways to evade the punitive tax rate. The result is that the slumlords get off basically scotfree, and the rest of us pay the price.