On Friday, February 5, Mayor Lester Miller and multiple departments and agencies announced a new, focused effort to attack blight in neighborhoods by identifying clusters of burned structures that are beyond rehabilitation and repair and can be classified as a nuisance under Macon-Bibb County Code.

Burned and blighted properties news conference from MaconBibbTV on Vimeo.

During the news conference, the first batch of 64 structures identified were announced, and the owners will be receiving a letter giving them a period of time in which to take care of their property. A failure to respond or follow through will result in them being declared a nuisance and then demolished after they have been tested for asbestos and abated, if necessary.

“Blight infects our neighborhoods, reducing people’s pride, degrading public safety, and lowering property values, and we must use every method to attack blight and reverse those trends,” says Mayor Miller.

Macon-Bibb County is working through the Fire Department and Tax Commissioner’s Office to identify burned structures that are delinquent on taxes and are not already in a blight remediation process. Using data from the Fire Department, IT is able to map all of the structures to identify areas where there is a collection of burned structures.

During the news conference, Mayor Miller announced the first structures identified as potential nuisances and the potential timeline, and District 9 Commissioner Al Tillman spoke about the recent action to address future burned homes through insurance agencies.

“We cannot allow burned structures…structures that are very obviously beyond habitable or even repair…to degrade our streets and neighborhoods, and this is one method by which we can begin attacking blight,” says Mayor Miller.