Springfield’s blight fight advances

The recent raft of ordinances the town adopted as a strategy against blight appears to be working, Town Manager Tom Yennerell said.


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Springfield’s blight fight advances Rutland Herald | February 16, 2017 By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER This photo provided by Springfield officials shows a property on Seavers Brook Road they said violated a ban on outdoor storage of materials. PROVIDED PHOTO This photo provided by Springfield officials shows a property on Seavers Brook Road they said violated a ban on outdoor storage of materials. PROVIDED PHOTO SPRINGFIELD — The recent raft of ordinances the town adopted as a strategy against blight appears to be working, Town Manager Tom Yennerell said. He said this week that many of the people who have been cited under the new ordinances had cleaned up their properties. What was more striking, he said, was that people next to those properties, who hadn’t been cited, had also worked on their property — voluntarily. “It’s fascinating,” he said. Yennerell told the Select Board earlier this week that 20 notices were sent out in recent months to homeowners about violations of the state’s ban on outdoor storage of materials, which is covered under the town’s zoning regulations. “The response has been very positive, with most properties cleaning up,” he said. Other property owners have contacted the town’s administrative officer, Bill Kearns, and worked out a timetable for completing their cleanup. Not all property owners have responded, Yennerell added, and those will be forwarded to Superior Court. Of the 20 ordinance citations, according to town records, four were sent to landlord Will Hunter of Community Restoration Corps. Hunter has filed an appeal to those citations and the town is scheduled to hold a hearing and site visits at the end of February, Yennerell said. The ordinance dealing with blight near schools and day-care centers resulted in four citations being issued, and all four came into compliance, he said. One property owner still has some small areas that need to have siding painted, and the landowner has promised to do that work in spring. “If they don’t paint as promised, we will ticket them,” he said. Selectman Walter Martone said in the town’s long fight against blight, Yennerell’s report was encouraging. “This is great news. The voluntary compliance, that’s the best possible development. People are taking this seriously and the town taking it seriously,” Martone said. “Voluntary compliance is what we were hoping for,” he told the manager. “I congratulate you on this wonderful report.” Also, the town has identified five vacant buildings that under a third new ordinance dealing with vacant buildings, will be addressed after town meeting, Yennerell said. One building’s ownership is being transferred and will be demolished, he said.