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Garner aims to curb blight in older neighborhoods

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

Garner leaders are trying a new approach to improving older neighborhoods in town, starting with two in North Garner.

THE GARNER CITIZEN

Last week, Town Hall began rolling out its South of Main Initiative, a coordinated effort across departments to improve residential property appearances as well as compliance with zoning rules and housing codes through proactive enforcement.

As part of the program, town staff will survey properties in downtown Garner between Main Street and Hwy 70 from Benson Road to New Rand Road, looking for violations ranging from junked cars in view to unsafe buildings.

Approved by the Town Council, the project will deploy town employees to the area to look for possible violations at properties before receiving any specific complaints, which is how staff normally handles issues such as businesses operating in residential zones and poor street lighting.

Local leaders are focusing on older neighborhoods, however, as part of larger efforts to prevent them from becoming blighted eyesores.

“Council has designated this area as one that needs attention,” Town Manager Hardin Watkins said.

Lined with narrow residential streets, the neighborhood consists of mostly older homes with some new dwellings sprinkled in. Renters are common, as are longtime residents, who have seen the area’s appearance decline over time as new development moved south of Hwy 70 and farther east in town.

As neighborhood organizations have atrophied, concerns have accumulated. Now, the area features a hodgepodge of houses, many with walls of painted cinder blocks or faded siding.

A proactive approach

Town leaders want to help residents turn the neighborhood around.

“We want to target areas that have not historically gotten attention,” Council member Buck Kennedy said.

In December, the Council adopted a similar strategy in nearby School Acres, another older neighborhood in town. Since then, police have increased patrols, engineers have secured new street lights and inspectors have repaired fences and towed vehicles.

The town has sent residents regular newsletters outlining progress on ongoing issues and asking residents to share concerns — anonymously if needed.

The proactive approach appears to be working. Police calls and overall complaints have dropped in the area since the program launched, says Reggie Buie, the town’s neighborhood improvement manager who is coordinating both projects.

Residents can expect to see the town move into South of Main later this year. Buie plans to reconvene the project’s team in coming months to look at specific issues there.

The town will keep a presence in School Acres while expanding the approach into other neighborhoods around town as needed, Watkins said.

“I think we will continue with this philosophy over time,” Watkins said

A handful of Council members rode with Watkins and Buie through the area July 9, looking at properties and making an initial list of concerns and items in possible violation of the town’s zoning or housing codes.

Properties with uncut grass, junked cars in backyards and a few broken windows were compiled by staff into a list of items to investigate that will grow as the town deploys more resources there.

One challenge in getting improvements made on problem properties is finding and working with owners who can make changes.

The area has a lot of renters. In some cases, though, owners live out of state or the property is tied up in an estate, which can complicate or delay work toward compliance. In other enforcement cases, the town has eventually ended up fining violators or starting litigation.

Town officials hope to avoid more lawsuits. They would rather residents improve their own property values and in the process boost the town’s collective appearance.

‘It makes everyone look bad’

Town leaders say for now the South of Main area is a good place to extend the new strategy: It is close to School Acres, and there is overlap in the kind of concerns.

Officials started with School Acres after getting a flood of complaints from residents around the neighborhood. Residents had concerns about crime, poorly lit streets and illegal businesses.

Months later, residents are pleased the town is taking an interest in its older neighborhoods.

Michelle Williams, 29, moved to School Acres two years ago; the neighborhood is an affordable option for younger families moving to town, she said. She believes it is good to see Garner taking steps to help preserve residents’ property values.

“It would be nice if the neighborhood didn’t turn into a renter’s club,” Williams said.

South of Main residents are open to the new strategy as well.

Patricia Moore, 66, has owned a home on Montague Street since 2000. She wants to see more street lights and more police patrols. She won’t mind if some junked cars see the business end of a tow truck.

“If someone next to you doesn’t clean up their place, it makes everyone look bad,” she said.

Town leaders have grasped this too.

South of Main is a central piece of Town Hall’s downtown development plans. Eventually, the town and other stakeholders hope the area will attract a mix of restored and redeveloped residential and commercial development, perhaps even the home of a future Town Hall.

Those plans, however, hinge on developers and others seeing the area as attractive for long-term investments.

Kennedy thinks these proactive enforcement efforts can help toward that goal as well.

“If [developers] see us taking an interest in this area,” he said, “they may look at buying down here.”

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