Other suggestions from the group included using vacant lots to create parks and recreation areas for children, community gardens, yards, a source of potential income and a place for residents to potentially own a share of their neighborhood.

Other session participants informed the group about efforts to cleanup contamination at Riverside Mills, that some neighborhood cleanups are occurring and of the presence and intent of the South Side Community Land Trust gardens. One woman said efforts are underway to search and clear titles on a number of vacant lots. A participant told the group about a program to purchase lots from the city for $1 and another said that the city has the EPA testing lots so that they may begin to bring them up to standard.

Several people mentioned efforts of the Providence Department of Public Works (DPW) to contact owners and notify them of code violations as well as take them to court if that step is needed.

The actions of Stop Wasting Abandoned Properties (SWAP) to build owner-occupied houses were mentioned as were efforts on the city government's part to enforce statutes against dumping refuse on vacant lots.
 

A participant reported ongoing efforts in the Mt. Hope area to create a park for community-based activities and picnics in what is now a vacant lot and said that neighborhood groups throughout the city should undertake similar efforts. Another suggested developing grants to assist South Providence homeowners to develop vacant lots and a third person suggested installing surveillance cameras to document illegal dumping.

An employee of the city of Providence suggested that efforts to clear titles on vacant lots should be expanded. "Some people believe that somebody owns it and is just not picking it up when, in fact, for a great number of vacant lots there is really nobody there anymore," she said. "There is nobody to go after and the average neighbor is incapable and just doesn't have the expertise to buy that property because there is no way to really buy it. Plus, the taxes are often more than the value of the lot."

This person said that the power of condemnation should be used to clear lot ownership. "The only long-term way to solve the vacant lot problem is to get somebody besides the government - hopefully - to own it."

A strong theme that emerged in this discussion was the desire for more information. In particular, participants want access to information about when sales of vacant lot sales occur, where the vacant lots are and who owns them. Participants suggested that such information should be available via the World Wide Web as well as in a computerized database made openly available at city offices. They stressed that this information should be accurate, up-to-date and made easily understandable to all Providence residents.

"We need to know when the sales are occurring. A lot of times, there is only 24 hours (of prior notice) and all those properties are gone. The inside track knows," one participant said to general agreement through the room. There "should be some ability to review what is up for sale and say that there is an interest in this for some other reason. It (selling vacant lots) tends to be looked at as a money raising venture rather than an opportunity for reclamation," a participant said.

"If we are empowered as a community to know that we could buy it as an abutter or that we could go down and buy it for $1, or community organizations could do that, that would be very helpful," a person said. "But again, it is kind of like this city hall wall that you are up against. So you go, 'No, this is out of our reach. We don't feel like we have accessibility to these lots.'"

Another theme to this discussion was a desire for government to act. "The city has no device or program or effort to identify and market tax-sale properties," a participant said. She suggested the city embark upon a marketing effort to take advantage of the opportunity of vacant lots. The group was aware of legal ad notices, but felt that their language and the medium do not effectively reach many residents or community organizations. The information "needs to be in ways people understand," one person said.

Efforts should be expended to make greater use of the state's affordable housing trust fund, the Housing and Openspace Trust Fund, one person said. Several individuals suggested variations of an idea to use financial means to achieve the desired ends. The suggestions ranged from the city aggressively placing liens on the primary residences of vacant lot owners to strengthening the under-utilization tax on vacant lots.

A suggestion from one individual was to alter the regulations defining what quantity of dumped materials on a vacant lot compel government agencies to act. This person said that EPA requirements stipulate that four cubic yards must be present before the agency becomes involved. She said while that amount of material may be appropriate for a rural environment, the amount should be lowered to match lot sizes within the city.

Creating access to water on vacant lots in order to encourage and allow individuals to plant gardens - while passing the cost along to the owner - was another suggestion.