Nationwide, it is Independence Day. And in ANC 6A and 6C it is also Independence from Vacant Properties Day. As we all know, vacant properties often fall into disrepair and attract crime, vermin and blight. Because of these problems, vacant properties are supposed be charged at Class III property tax rates (5 times normal) to incentivize owners to fix up and reoccupy their properties or sell them.
Unfortunately, the reality in Washington DC is that many vacant properties never get on the vacant property lists, many receive waivers so that they do not have to pay the higher tax rates and surprisingly, many continue to receive homestead exemptions even though the properties are considered vacant by the DC government.
A number of volunteers from ANC 6A and 6C have worked hard over the last several months to catalog over 300 vacant properties in our neighborhood and posted our results on an interactive map where:
1) There is a recent picture of the property
2) The property address links to the tax records
3) The properties are classified as to where they are in the
identification system.
Although a lot of work has been done, we still need your help!
We need help with the following items:
1) Pictures of the remaining properties.
2) More information about these properties, including how long it has been vacant, if it attracting other problems, etc.
3) Reports of vacant property which do not appear on the map.
You can leave comments on the map with more information about the properties. To report new properties or send pictures please send an email to 6a6cvacantproperties@gmail.com
The city council is preparing to pass a vacant property law that eliminates many loopholes in the existing law and will cause many more vacant properties to pay Class III rates. Having a comprehensive list and mapping of all vacant properties in ANC 6A and 6C will help us quantify the problem in our neighborhood and report these properties to DCRA and OTR.
Special thanks in this project go to: Tom Madison, Charles Elliott, Bill Schultheiss, Heather Scott, Chris Homan, Stephanie Nixon, Alan Kimber, Lance Brown, Sharon Cochran, and Rick Uzes.
Drew Ronneberg
ANC 6A Economic Development and Zoning Chair
15 comments:
Wow! This is super-hyper-cool. We have two properties on our short block, one of which has been abandoned for *years*. Hopefully the speculators squatting on them will be forced to do something with them now...
One thing I'm curious about: what is the status of the properties w/ light blue markers (i.e. "Community Reported")?
Also, I notice that the abandoned property a couple blocks from me (#52 - at 215 Warren St, NE) has been completely gutted, leaving only the street-side facade.
They've taped a Xeroxed sheet saying "215 Warren St" on the front door, and affixed a very inexpensive mailbox. I'm just curious if they're somehow exploiting a loophole...
One of the many odd DC-isms out there...
To Drew Ronneberg: how do you get yourself removed from this. My house is on the list even though I bought and occupied it a year and half ago. I've been trying to get dcra to take me of their list for months now, now im on some map? What ``confirmation'' is done on this? Do you have contact info please. Thanks
Contact info (from the announcement): 6a6cvacantproperties@gmail.com
I am on there too. I have occupied this place for 2 years. I have paid taxes for 2 years. I have contacted DCRA when they mailed me a vacant lot form and told them I am not vacant, just look at my taxes. They said they don't talk to that agency. Without oversight this is just a pretty map.
What is the definition of "vacant" they are using? One of the properties near me has had people in it recently, appearing to start a renovation so their confirmation walk-around, which I may have witnessed last week -- "Yep, it looks empty to me" -- isn't the greatest. Not that this isn't a great first start to correcting DC records. I think there should be some distinctions between vacant yet actually managed properties (i.e. that are well-boarded up and that someone appears to pay attention to) and those that are in worse condition and attract squatters etc.
DCRA defines a vacant property as one that has been unoccupied for at least 30 consecutive days. I would assume that this is the definition the site uses (because I'm assuming that the DCRA definition is the definition that determines vacancy for tax purposes and that would be what drives the site).
Yeah, it marks both The Clothing Cafe and Granville Moore's as vacant.
Those knocks aside, I know it's taken them a heck of a lot of work to get this data together and I hope like heck that their work is heeded by the city.
sometimes, overactive citizens create public sites that are... well.. just that. citizen's sites.
this is a bunch of neighbors mapping out their complaints.
that's how dc government sees it.
and from this blog, you can see that some of the props listed are plain wrong.
again, it's citizen's complaint map.
don't get me wrong, it's a great start, but it's not 100% accurate.
and people need to take it for what it is: a start.
dc government should have come up with something similar, but the friggin' retards probably don't even know how to use the internet, let alone inspect "vacant" properties, and certify them as such.
it's a crack-head marion barry legacy of an incompetent government that tony couldn't fix.
waters run deep (and still) in this city.
so... we have this cool (inaccurate) website, what's the next step?
I too have a property that is *definitely* not vacant, but is on this list. I agree that inaccurate information like this is not "a start" but instead a potentially dangerous and counterproductive website.
In the last day there were over 320 views of the vacant properties web page and 5 reports of miscategorized properties. That is an error rate of less than 2%. One of the reasons we published the web page is to get reports of errors that need correction. Given the fact there there were very few errors reported (and all of them corrected), I would hardly characterize the site as inaccurate. I also fail to see how this website is "dangerous and counterproductive" as one poster claimed. If there are further errors, please report them to 6a6cvacantproperties@gmail.com
ibc,
We intent to report the "Community Identified" properties to DCRA so they can be added to the vacant property list. Of course, one of the ways of helping to insure that we don't misreport occupied properties as vacant is to publicize the map so a much larger group can vet the list. I appreciate all the constructive comments which have been received so far.
Ro and several anonymous posters,
We can't correct the list unless you identify which addresses have been misidentified. Please email 6a6cvacantproperties@gmail.com
Chris,
I believe the reason why the Clothing Cafe was originally on the vacant properties list is that it was identified before the business opened. It has now been corrected.
Granville Moore is on the list because it is hasn't opened for business yet. It will be removed when the place opens up. This is nothing against Granville Moore and I am sure they are going to open soon. We need to make a clear distinction of vacant and occupied properties, but there are a lot of gray areas like someone posting a building permit in the window in order to escape Class III property rates. How do you know the difference between someone intending to occupy a property and someone just putting up a building permit in the window?
Good luck with all of this. I have been reporting the property next to mine as vacant since 2003 and have had no results (it is noted on this map too).
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