Mow-to-own is a cut above in blight fight

Of all the blight-fighting initiatives in place in the city and county, City Council member Berlin Boyd’s mow-to-own program may be the most practical, and one unencumbered by legal and administrative red tape.

The Memphis City Council Tuesday approved on first reading an ordinance that authorizes the creation of the city’s mow-to-own program. It must be approved on two more readings.

If the ordinance wins approval, it will allow the owner of a property that adjoins a vacant lot owned by the city or Shelby County to mow that governmentowned property and eventually take ownership.

With the proper oversight, this program is a practical way to keep overgrown lots mowed and to put the lots back on the tax rolls.

Under the proposed ordinance, the minimum cost for eligible lots is $500 and the maximum is $10,000. Program participants, individuals or nonprofit organizations, pay an administrative fee of $175 and will be credited at a rate of $25 a cut for three years, or a maximum of $1,350.

An eligible property owned by the county would be gifted to the city for the program.

The city will then deed the property to the participant when the maintenance agreement is fulfilled.

If the property’s cost exceeds that amount the participant pays the difference.

Code enforcement officers will monitor their progress and the participants will also be required to provide periodic pictures of their work. Blight is a serious issue in Memphis. It is a disease that feeds on itself not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but also from its role as an incubator for crime and toxic stress that negatively impacts the brain development of young children.

Overgrown lots are particular problems because they are magnets for illegal dumping and breeding grounds for all types of vermin.

Over the years, the city and county have launched several strategies to make a dent in the problem, spending millions of dollars battling blight from weed control to condemnation of property.

Blight control also is a key part of the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle “Clean by 2019” moon mission.

Condemning and taking possession of blighted property can be a time-consuming process because of laws protecting an owner’s property rights.

The mow-to-own ordinance is way to make an immediate positive impact in the city and county while making a dent in the $8 million the city and county annually spend to cut and maintain empty properties.

This ordinance has a lot of upside — if those who enter the program are held accountable. We also hope officials will be on guard against individuals who might try to take advantage of the program for less than admirable reasons.