Who are the primary targets of CRSI’s assistance?

Older industrial cities are the primary target as the cumulative economic decline and disinvestment of the past 40 years makes it nearly impossible for traditional economic development and redevelopment strategies to solve the problems of population decline, industry decline, and foreclosures.

What types of vacant properties?

The primary target is vacant and abandoned residential properties (those with structures and vacant lots) but the local regeneration plans encourage inclusion of brownfields (industrial properties) and greyfields (commercial properties, offices, strip retail, shopping malls, etc.).

What about foreclosed/Real estate owned (REO) properties?

CRSI funds should certainly be coordinated and leveraged with Neighborhood Stabilization Program monies to address foreclosures, however, CRSI funds can apply to any vacant property whether or not it has gone through a foreclosure process.  Properties must meet CRSI’s statutory definition of vacant properties (abandoned for six months and conditions create a public nuisance).

What makes this proposed legislation special or unique?

CRSI’s primary policy and programmatic goals include:

• Building the capacity of local governments to prevent, demolish, manage, and reclaim vacant and abandoned properties through funding a wide array of effective strategies and tools, such as:
  • Land banks, urban land trusts, land reutilization authorities
  • Real property information systems, vacant property inventories and mapping
  • Neighborhood-driven reuse planning and neighborhood typologies
  • Code enforcement staffing and programs
  • Housing courts and administrative hearing bodies

• Facilitating the development of holistic regeneration plans that include partnerships with nonprofits, community based groups, the private sector, academia, and others. Regeneration plans would serve as the framework for fostering collaboration, cross federal agencies assistance, and policy innovation.

• Promoting a wide variety of sustainable reuse of vacant properties, such as green infrastructure, urban agriculture, renewable energy generation, green buildings, energy efficient buildings, affordable housing, deconstruction

• Promoting the pilot testing of innovative policies, programs and demonstration projects, such as reforming regulations, codes and comprehensive plans, facilitating the deconstruction of abandoned buildings and the decommissioning of surplus infrastructure, etc.

• Facilitating collaboration across jurisdictions within regions, as blight and abandonment is no longer just an inner-city problem but can be found in suburban towns, cities, and even semi-rural counties.  Too often vacant property problems fester while local governments attempt to solve the problem on their own.

• Encouraging coordination across federal agencies at the regional/district office level and at Headquarters in Washington, DC through the creation of a Federal Interagency Council modeled after the National Brownfield’s Communities Partnership established by US EPA in the 1998.