Homeowners Support Neighborhood Cleanup Efforts

COLUMBUS, Ohio—People who live in the Franklinton area of west Columbus say they support any efforts by the city to clean up abandoned properties that have become eyesores.

Published reports say the city is considering registry of vacant houses to keep track of owners.

Neighbors on Avondale Avenue worry about rodents, mosquitoes and overgrown weeds. They don’t want their children playing near such areas.

Resident Krista Mason wants to move out of the neighborhood but thinks she’ll have a hard time selling her property, which sits across the street from two vacant homes.

She says the owner of one home has started to fix up the property. She saw new windows installed and a fixed roof, but the work suddenly stopped.

“So I think if we could get these vacants stabilized that this neighborhood would stabilize. I mean, we all know each other. We’re all really close. We watch each other’s properties. So I think this could turn into a really good neighborhood,” Mason said.

Just last week, the city tore down a home at 300 Dakota. Neighbors there had been waiting for the house to be demolished for a while.

Mayor Coleman says there are more than 5,000 blighted homes in Columbus. So far this year, 13 have been torn down.

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