CORE OBJECTIVE 5: BUILD HEALTHY AND WHOLE COMMUNITIES

WESTMORELAND COUNTY TAKES THE FIGHT TO BLIGHT

Over the last year, several steps were taken at the local and county levels to focus energy and resources on remediating, preventing, and redeveloping blighted properties. This recent work supports efforts to build healthy and whole communities throughout Westmoreland County. Outlined as a goal in the county’s comprehensive plan, Reimagining Our Westmoreland, building healthy and whole communities means we can improve quality of life, retain existing residents, and attract new ones.

Westmoreland County’s communities are not alone in the fight against blight as it exists in virtually every community. Many factors lead to conditions of blight including a lack of stringent property code enforcement programs, deferred and deficient maintenance from property owners, absent property owners, foreclosures, and even loss of population. The issue of blight is further exacerbated by our aging population, who may not have the means or ability to take regular care of properties or who have passed on, leaving maintenance responsibilities on loved ones.

Regardless of the cause of blight, its effects are damaging to communities. Blighted properties can cause a community’s tax base to decrease, push current and future residents away, drive taxes up for remaining residents, interfere with growth and development, increase crime, and negatively affect health outcomes. Since blight is an ongoing and recurring problem, effects can compound over time, making it a difficult challenge to address with just one solution.

So, what can be done about blight? There are a number of tools, steps, and resources that communities can utilize. From a more disciplined approach to code enforcement to employing vacant property registrations, pursuing land bank or community acquisition of properties, and home or rental repair and rehabilitation programs, a variety of different tools can be used to tackle blighted properties. Although much of the authority to address blight falls on a local municipality, communities do not need to work at it alone. Partnerships with different levels of government, local businesses, organizations, and stakeholders can ensure a comprehensive and successful approach.

One way Westmoreland County’s communities are getting a jump on addressing blight is through a partnership with the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority (RACW). In 2022, the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners announced plans to utilize $10.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to remove blighted structures in the seven communities of Arnold, Greensburg, Jeannette, Monessen, New Kensington, Penn Borough, and Vandergrift Borough. Coordinated through the RACW, the goal of this program is to identify as many as 500 blighted properties and utilize grant funds for their demolition or rehabilitation.

Through the ARPA-funded program, the RACW works directly with communities to identify blighted properties, relying on the community’s local expertise and intel to provide information and guidance and expedite demolitions or rehabilitations. According to Brian Lawrence, Executive Director of the RACW, $753,000 of ARPA funds have been spent on 51 projects that are either complete or are actively being worked on. Another 60 properties are to be targeted in the next six months.

Thanks to a partnership with the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, the RACW received additional funding to hire a consultant to help communities plan for what happens after the blighted structures are removed. “Since markets are different from community to community, scenarios for how properties can be redeveloped after blight is removed varies. Our hope is that by working with a consultant, they can provide a framework to give to communities to help them rethink and redesign these properties after the blight is gone,” said Lawrence.

In addition to providing funds and guidance directly to communities, the RACW has hosted several local events – like the Annual Blight Remediation Summit – to share intel and resources on eliminating blight. The events provide an opportunity for local government officials, code enforcement staff, developers, realtors, and many others to learn new tools, information, and share resources on how best to address blight within our communities. “There’s a real hunger for understanding these things and we’re glad to be offering these events in our own backyard,” said Lawrence.

The fight against blight doesn't stop here, as progress was made at the local level to tackle this countywide problem. From increasing quality-of-life violations to utilizing community-based code enforcement, and implementing a blight mitigation plan, communities such as Jeannette, Lower Burrell, Latrobe, Greensburg, and Arnold have taken a more serious approach to blight.

As local leaders take steps to ensure that our towns and neighborhoods are vibrant and free of blight, Westmoreland County’s communities are becoming more healthy and whole.