The D.C. Council will consider legislation that would offer tax breaks to a growing number of struggling owners of vacant or blighted commercial and residential properties.
The legislation, introduced in October by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, will have a public hearing on Nov. 15. The bill aims to create safeguards that prevent long-term vacancies and bring downtrodden properties back into working order. Data from the D.C. Department of Buildings indicates there are about 2,852 vacant properties and 345 blighted properties in the District, according to Mendelson.
“The theory behind this bill is that vacant properties are a nuisance as well as being a drag on their neighborhoods,” Mendelson wrote in a memo introducing the bill. “The proposals in this bill will ensure that the District will be better positioned to prevent vacancy and blight, address violations of the law, and get vacant and blighted properties back into productive use.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Ben Peters over at Washington Business Journal
