Readsboro Mulling Ways to Attack Blight
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"For the past couple of years, I've had a lot of people come to concerned about junk and garbage piled up on lawns and things like that. But unless it's a health issue, there's not much we can do to stop the problem," said Select Board Vice Chairwoman Charlotte Clark.
Though the board has dedicated significant time to discussing the issue at its last several meetings, a solution has yet to develop.
"Right now, we're trying to decide whether an ordinance or a zoning bylaw would be the right way to go," said Clark.
At its Tuesday meeting, the board tabled discussion on a potential ordinance until members received an update from the Planning Commission on whether to proceed with preparing an ordinance. If clearing the town of junk and blight becomes a zoning matter, the bylaw will be written by the commission and enforced by the zoning administrator, Clark said.
At the meeting, Lawrence Hopkins expressed incredulity at continuing to investigate tackling the problem from a zoning standpoint.
"How do you zone junk?" Hopkins asked.
If the town decides to create an ordinance, a volunteer committee made up of residents and concerned homeowners will be formed to identify what Clark called "the process and punishment."
Select Board Clerk Theodore "Teddy" Hopkins has said putting the junk/blight issue under the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission will ensure that the proper action is taken.
"The collecting of junk is a cultural problem meaning those that do so really don't have many financial assets and all of the fines in the world associated with a new ordinance are not worth the paper they are printed on. It would cost more taxpayer dollars to chase a violator for collection than the violator's ability to pay," Hopkins wrote in an online forum that Clark hosts.
At a prior meeting, Betty Bolognani suggested viewing the village ordinances from before the merger with the town as she believed a similar ordinance had already existed.
"These places are an eyesore to the neighborhood. This is an effort to keep Readsboro looking nice," said Clark. "Junk and garbage is not the first thing you want people to see when they come into your town."
The issue of developing an ordinance will be discussed at the next meetings of the Planning Commission and the Select Board.
