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Friday, January 29, 2016

Snow Hill Considering Vacant Building Ordinance To Address Blight

SNOW HILL– Snow Hill officials are hoping to put a stop to the increasing number of shuttered and deserted structures downtown with a new vacant building ordinance.

Though still in its early stages, the ordinance would set up a registration process and enable town staff to periodically inspect vacant buildings, both commercial and residential, in Snow Hill. There was standing room only at the old train station during a public hearing on the proposal Tuesday.

“It did what I wanted it to,” Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman said. “It got the people talking about it.”

Dorman said vacant buildings had been a problem in Snow Hill for years. Currently there are 22 empty commercial buildings and close to 60 vacant homes. And they’re not just vacant—most are in need of extensive repairs.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A good location for outlets!

Thornton Crowe said...

The fees are reasonable; however, they seem to punish property owners for a lack of businesses moving into the area. Prohibiting business growth is not the building owners fault, it's the failed policies implemented on the state and federal level. With all the rules, regulations and laws, it has created a very prohibitive climate for business owners to even try to open in the first place, while it continues to contribute to the closure of existing businesses. Snow Hill really has to find some happy medium that is not punitive to the commercial property owners but rejuvenates the local economy within their town.

Anonymous said...

so what do they intend to do about it? force people to open businesses? force people to move to snow hill and buy houses? lol.

remember what Reagan said? It's the economy stupid.