MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Minot has blighted homes marring otherwise rebuilt neighborhoods nearly seven years after a devastating flood in the region.
The City Council on Monday will consider a proposal to address so-called “zombie” homes through an involuntary acquisition program, using $800,000 in disaster recovery grant money, the Minot Daily News reported .
The city has identified about three dozen properties meeting the criteria, said John Zakian, manager of the city’s disaster resilience owner. Property owners would need to show intent to repair within 150 days to be removed from the list.
“The conditions of these properties are threatening the stability of the neighborhoods they are in,” Zakian said.
Councilwoman Shannon Straight said she prefers for the homes to be restored, but that properties remaining neglected must go.
“People want these places gone,” she said. “They are tired of it.”
Minot officials have identified additional grant money to demolish blighted properties the city buys. Council members advanced a program this week that would make the cleared land available to neighboring property owners.
The Neighbor Next Door program would auction those lots with deed restrictions barring the building of permanent structures.
The 2011 Souris River Flood caused an estimated $1 billion in damage in the region and prompted the evacuation of more than 11,000 people in Minot.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com
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