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R-00-46 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION BY THE CITY OF <br />PORTSMOUTH FOR A COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DERELICT <br />STRUCTURES REMOVAL GRANT. <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth, Virginia desires to ~mprove the quality of <br />life for its residents; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth, Virginia recognizes the negative impact that <br />abandoned and derelict buildings have on the surrounding community and on the city as a <br />whole; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, abandoned and derelict buildings serve as an attraction to those <br />persons who engage in illegal activities such as drug trafficking and use; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, abandoned and derelict buildings become potential targets for <br />arsonists, with three such buildings in the City of Portsmouth having been heavily <br />damaged by deliberately-set fires in the last four months; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the City Council fmds that this negative impact is heightened when <br />a concentration of ahandoned and derelict buildings exists; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, 70% or 66 of the 95 severely-deteriorated derelict buildings found <br />within the boundaries of the City of Portsmouth are located in an area comprising less <br />than 20% of the city's land area; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, this same area is participating in such neighborhood rehabilitation <br />and economic development initiatives as the HOPE VI federal grant program and the <br />federal Empowerment Zone program: and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the continued presence of derelict buildings will hinder the <br />development sparked by these federal grants: and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, while over 55% of the City of Portsmouth is exempt from real estate <br />taxes, the City has nevertheless already attacked this problem by utilizing combined <br />General Budget funds in the amount of $200,000 either spent in the City's FY I999-2000 <br />budget or committed in the current FY 2000-2001 budget; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, these activities are supported by the efforts of the Portsmouth <br />Redevelopment and Housing Authority through the use of Community Development <br />Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the removal of additional derelict buildings; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS. since the demolition and removal of debris from a site cost an <br />average of $3,500 per structure, budget limitations will not allow an aggressive <br />enforcement action to address 34 properties identified as derelict and abandoned; and <br /> <br /> <br />