Prince George’s Co. is Ready to Crack Down on Owners of Abandoned Properties
Industry Update
October 6, 2023
Source: wtop.com
There are thousands of blighted, abandoned and vacant properties all over Prince George’s County, Maryland. But exactly how many there are, and where they are, isn’t known by the county. And the agency tasked with enforcing upkeep of those thousands has all of four people to handle it all.
That’s some of the information that came out of a county council committee hearing Thursday, as county lawmakers discussed a bill to help crack down on the eyesore properties.
The legislation being pushed by council member Krystal Oriadha starts with the creation of a registry of all the vacant properties around the county. It was assumed there was one, but there isn’t.
Leaders in the county’s Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) said they were aware of about 4,500 properties that would make that list, if one existed, but there’s no organized list.
“When we talk about development in our communities, making sure that we tackle this vacant property issue is part of ensuring that we have better development in the county, and that we don’t have banks or companies sitting on real estate just waiting for the better opportunity for them,” said Oriadha.
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