Atlanta City Councilmember Byron Amos introduced legislation at Monday’s meeting to create a new “blight tax” to crack down on neglected properties that contribute to blighted conditions and disinvestment in neighborhoods.
The ordinance would allow the city to utilize a program approved by Georgia voters in recent years to push property owners to remediate or redevelop blighted properties.
If approved, the legislation would empower the municipal court to impose a “blight tax” on neglected properties. Occupied properties would be exempt from the program, ensuring no residents are involuntarily displaced.
Mayor Andre Dickens proposed the idea of the tax, saying there was an urgent need to address substandard housing and root out negligent property owners.
“This new policy will equip the city with a powerful tool for cracking down on corporate, absentee owners who treat property as a cheap investment vehicle rather than part of the fabric of our communities,” Dickens said in a statement after the legislation was introduced.
Blight taxes have been successfully implemented in communities around the state and the country as a surgical, judicial enforcement tool for chronically vacant and neglected properties that might otherwise sit vacant for decades, hampering communities in the process.
The “blight tax” would allow municipal courts to increase specific blighted properties’ tax bills by up to 25 times the current city tax rate. As an added incentive, once a blighted property is remediated and returned to productive use, it may be eligible for a discounted tax rate.
For large-scale properties that significantly impact their surrounding neighborhood, property owners must first agree to a detailed redevelopment plan that addresses neighborhood objectives around connectivity, transportation and public amenities that benefit the entire community.
“This legislation addresses a key concern for District 3 residents, who have for too long been subjected to neglected, blighted properties whose owners are content to wait to cash in,” Amos said. “The blight tax will give us much greater leverage in persuading these owners to clean up their property or sell them to a better steward who will.”
