Councilwoman Bass: ‘Blight is unacceptable’ in Germantown

Eighth District City Councilwoman Cindy Bass said she is attempting to end the plague of crumbling and abandoned properties which are left unattended in Germantown.

She has taken action on one property in particular, located on the 5300 block of Knox St., that has been an eyesore in the community for more than 10 years.

At a “Blight Court” hearing before Municipal Court Judge Bradley K. Moss on April 26, Bass said that these types of properties are “unacceptable in a world-class city.”

“Blight is unacceptable,” said Bass. “We cannot allow homes in our neighborhoods to continue to slip into disrepair. It is unsafe, it is an eyesore and it severely damages the morale of those in the community seeking to move Germantown in a positive direction.”

Task Force forming

Bass has co-sponsored an ordinance to create a “Problem Property Task Force,” which would further efforts to penalize those who disregard city ordinances.

The Knox Street case has been in court since March 2011 and the owner of the deteriorating house, Anthony Byrne, has had 12 court listings.

Bass said that Byrne has been given multiple opportunities to get his property up to code. She said she plans to follow this case until this problem property receives a resolution.

“My office will be aggressively following up with the appropriate departments and publicly shaming offenders like Mr. Byrne to ensure that corrective action is taken,” said Bass.