JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville City Councilman is working on new legislation that aims to better protect and restore historic properties in the city’s historic neighborhoods.
Historic neighborhoods like Springfield are full of beautifully restored historic homes, but also historic properties that are literally falling apart.
“We see the potential in these properties and to see them neglected to the point that they are deteriorating, is just heartbreaking,” said Chrissie Cudd.
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Cudd is a real estate agent who has lived in Springfield for 16 years.
She argues those rundown properties aren’t just an eyesore, but also a drain on surrounding property values.
“It can hurt the resale on some of the properties that are for sale when that buyer is not rejecting the property, they’re rejecting the block,” said Cudd.
Currently, foreclosing on or reclaiming historic homes often requires going to a court, and can cost the city tens of thousands of dollars, which isn’t always worth the effort.
“A lot of these landowners have owned these properties for 10, 15, 20 years or more and they’re just allowing these properties to fall apart. They’ve got fines, they’ve got liens,” said Councilmember Jimmy Peluso (D-District 7).
Now, Peluso is working on legislation he hopes will incentivize the owners to put in the work, or sell to someone who will.
He said his idea is to put owners of historic properties in Springfield, Avondale and Riverside on the clock, giving them two or three years to restore their properties, or give them back to the city.
“We’re trying to make sure there’s a reverter so that, hey, if you don’t fix this property by ‘x’ day, it reverts back to the City of Jacksonville and we do find someone that can do it,” said Peluso.
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Cudd said she thinks the plan could work and give surrounding neighbors a glimmer of hope.
“It’s not adding a new process, but it’s taking the process we’ve got and simplifying it, speeding it up and making it much more feasible for the city to be able to act,” said Cudd.
Peluso is holding a public meeting on his legislation next week.
If he’s able to get enough support from his fellow council members, he believes the legislation could clear the finish line sometime in September.
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