Sunday, June 13, 2010

Neighborhood Development

Many communities around the state and around the country have taken the razing of abandoned buildings one step further. Waiting for years to seize the abandoned buildings is now down to a year in some communities. Eminent domain takes the building after a year of having no occupants then is demolished to the ground and left to go back to the original state before development.
Many communities are transforming these empty lots and spaces into community gardens and parks, built and managed by the residents in and around the area. Could we do this in Lorain? Optimistically, I would say yes. We have one man who decorates several corners in Lorain and it seems that the vandals have left the decorations alone. Would the gardens and parks established by private citizens stay intact and flourish? The city is doing the demolishing; now the land should be donated to the local residents to take and improve.
Additionally, we have an area on the south side of Colorado Avenue at the end of Missouri Avenue. Setting idle for more than two years, the area has become a great area for deer habitat. Many evenings the deer move close to Colorado Avenue while feeding. We can take the area and turn it in to community gardens. The area sits idle so why not let it become a place where folks can grow food for themselves and their neighbors. Leaving it sit idle is just plain wrong.

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