In Pelzer and West Pelzer
By Stan Welch
Approximately thirty citizens of the recently expanded town of Pelzer, as well as West Pelzer, were on hand last Thursday night to hear county officials explain the Neighborhood Initiative Plan; a program intended to assist municipalities in ridding themselves of blighted housing, which is purchased and demolished under the state administered program.
Steve Newton, government affairs liaison for the county, explained several key points about the program. For example, only residential properties are eligible, and they must be vacated and unfit for human habitation. Once that is determined, the county will contact the owner of record and determine whether they are interested in selling the property.
“Many times, owners are actually burdened by the taxes and other costs of ownershipsince the houses are in disrepair and can’t be rented to generate any revenue. If they are interested, we’ll have an appraisal done and make a fair offer.”
Planning Director Mike Foreman provided a list of twenty properties in the Pelzer/West Pelzer town limits that have been identified, but he asked the public for assistance in identifying any other properties they might know of. He also reported that two of those twenty properties had been addressed under a separate county program that applies to uncooperative landowners.
Under that program, if the owner refuses to handle the situation themselves, the county can demolish the properties and add those costs to the tax bill. Newton stressed that the NIP is entirely voluntary, and that the program doesn’t even have the legal authority to act against an owner’s wishes.
The Neighborhood Initiative is funded by the federal government and administered by the South Carolina Housing Office. Newton stated that there are eleven target areas in the county, with just under two and a half million dollars available for the purchase and demolition of properties. If the county purchases properties, it retains both possession of, and responsibility for, those properties for three years.
“Near the end of those three years, the communities and municipalities will again be asked for input into the possible uses for the properties, such as green spaces or recreational areas,” said Newton. “It is the aim of this program to redevelop and revitalize these sites and the communities around them.”
Anyone knowing of a potential site can contact Benton at 260-1010 or Rhonda Sloan at 260-6993.
