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WILKES-BARRE — Blight causes Luzerne County to lose $1.8 million annually in tax revenue, results of a recent study show.

The indirect economic loss is estimated to be from a low of $17.5 million to a high of $73 million, according to the study conducted by the Housing Task Force of the Institute on Public Policy and Economic Development at Wilkes University.

Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute, said the organization’s Housing Task Force identified blight as a major research issue last year for a number of reasons including economic impact on tax revenue; quality of life in neighborhoods and potential opportunity; and overall community image and identity.

“The research points to the fact that there is a direct and indirect economic tax loss that is of a significant amount to our local government,” Ooms said.

According to 5-year estimates done in 2015 from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, there were 19,749 vacant dwelling units in Luzerne County. However, not all of these represent blight. A large portion of vacant residential properties are those that are for sale or for rent, sold or rented but not yet occupied, and homes held for seasonal or occasional use.

However, even if occupied and in good repair, blighted properties are likely to have less value potential than the median home, as blighted properties are more likely to exist in neighborhoods with lower property values in Northeastern Pennsylvania. To account for this, the potential value of blighted properties was estimated based on 70 percent of the median home value in the county.

If all blighted residences in Luzerne County were occupied and in good repair, the total value of these properties is estimated to be nearly $293 million. The county tax impact of these properties is one of the most direct economic consequence of housing blight — estimated to be $1,827,501 in Luzerne County.

“The paper also discusses the impact of blight on quality of life, image and identity, and future potential,” Ooms said. “We hope that it draws attention to the regional issue, but also demonstrates the opportunity before us.”

The study states that housing blight refers to a broad range of housing conditions including vacancy, abandonment, under-utilization, and tax delinquency — issues that often occur together in affected properties.

As a result, blighted residential properties are known to impact the value of nearby properties, the tax base of the communities in which they are located, as well as intangible impacts such as detracting from the aesthetic beauty of the area and community pride.

The study found that the neighborhood economic impact of blighted residential properties in Luzerne County ranged from a low of $17.5 million to a mid level of $35.1 million to a high of $73.2 million.

There are some caveats to the data in the study:

• Measuring the impact of a broad phenomenon like blight is very difficult, and necessarily includes making assumptions.

• Prior research in this area was reviewed in order to support to the assumptions made in the analysis. When assumptions were made, they were made in a way that most conservatively estimates impact amounts.

• Though the best possible public data was used, housing data at the municipal level has a significant margin of error, especially for smaller communities.

That said, the study states that block-level and neighborhood-level impacts have been attributed to blighted and abandoned homes in past research. In many neighborhoods in Luzerne County, housing is somewhat dense, so in many cases many more neighboring properties may be impacted than the two, three, or four properties used for the estimates. Therefore, it is quite possible that the number of affected properties is greater, leading to an underestimation of economic impact.

“Regardless, the total amount of lost property value due to blight is likely to be in the millions of dollars in both Lackawanna and Luzerne County,” the study concludes.

The purpose of the analysis was to provide a framework to estimate selected fiscal, economic, and community impacts of blighted residential properties in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, as well as for ZIP Codes within both counties.

The study could be a potential aid for Luzerne County’s Blighted Property Review Committee, which was created last year.

A new initiative to compile an official Luzerne County list of abandoned eyesore properties is nearing implementation, and the review committee should be ready by the end of the summer to start accepting nominations of rundown properties from the county’s 72 townships and boroughs, according to committee Chairman Harry Haas.

The four cities in the county — Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Pittston and Nanticoke — can’t participate in the new program by law because they have their own redevelopment authorities to address blight, according to county officials.

Vacant properties could be declared blighted and placed on the list for numerous reasons, including public nuisance code violations, safety problems that may attract and endanger children, unaddressed vermin infestations or broken or disconnected utilities, plumbing, heating or sewage systems.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_The-Institute-logo.jpg.optimal.jpg

A blighted property on the corner of Pine and Maxwell Streets in Wilkes-Barre seen in 2015.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_blight.jpg.optimal.jpgA blighted property on the corner of Pine and Maxwell Streets in Wilkes-Barre seen in 2015. Times Leader file photo

Ooms
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_Terri_Ooms-cmyk.jpg.optimal.jpgOoms Times Leader file photo
Luzerne County could be losing nearly $2M annually

By Bill O’Boyle

[email protected]

ABOUTH THE INSTITUTE

The Institute on Public Policy and Economic Development at Wilkes University is a partnership between Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Keystone College, King’s College, Lackawanna College, Luzerne County Community College, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Penn State Worthington Scranton, The Wright Center, University of Scranton and Wilkes University.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.