The Prince William Board of Supervisors is set to start an aggressive attack on blight today.
The supervisors are scheduled to vote on several measures to clean up the county, including speeding the process for cleaning up trash-filled properties, demolishing four dilapidated buildings, and getting debris picked up quicker during crises.
With the amount of vacant property growing, county officials want to speed up the process by which they are able to enter private property and remove trash and potentially hazardous materials, said Michelle Casciato, chief of the Neighborhood Services Division.
Under the proposal, if the property owner does not clean up the property after reasonable notice, the county would be able to do so, at the owner’s expense. The change comes in the wake of a recently proposed measure under which the county could enter private property to clean up graffiti if property owners don’t.
“It’s a self-help remedy for the county,” Casciato said.
The measure would change the amount of time a property owner has to request a hearing after receiving a trash violation notice from five days to leaving the time period up to the county.
“It’s an increasing problem — we’re trying to be proactive before it gets out of hand,” said board Chairman Corey Stewart. “Many of the foreclosed properties are not maintained properly. In many cases, the owners are banks or lending institutions that don’t maintain the properties.”
In addition, four properties in the Gainesville, Brentsville and Dumfries districts are set to be labeled nuisances for falling into severe disrepair. The county would have the authority to demolish, repair or buy and sell the properties.
Casciato said the county has been investigating the four buildings and is planning to demolish them.
“In this case, the county has pursued the property owners,” she said. “The houses are really not capable of being repaired.”
The board also plans to pass a measure that would allow other counties to help remove the county’s excess debris after hurricanes or tornadoes, said Solid Waste Division Chief Tom Smith.
