Chicago Heights Establishes Program to Clean Up Vacant Lots

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The city of Chicago Heights and the Chicago Heights Development Corporation (CHDC) have designed a program for residents to assist in the “remediation of nuisance conditioned lots.” The Chicago Heights Nuisance Abatement Partnership Program (NAPP) encourages residents to partner with the village to eliminate the nuisance of blighted and unmaintained abandoned properties.

Residents willing to “jointly battle the adverse effects of abandoned unmaintained vacant lots” can apply to take temporary control of a property to improve its appearance and security. “This partnership does not grant ownership, but rather permits you to take all reasonable actions necessary to repair existing nuisances, such as cutting of grass, removal of weeds, cleaning and maintenance at your sole cost,” according to the NAPP program official agreement. The partnership allows participants to build fences and install other security measures as long as they comply with city code.

Applicants are asked to name the address of the property they’re interested in maintaining and whether they own other property in Chicago Heights. A code enforcement director must first declare the chosen property a public nuisance. “A lot is considered eligible and a public nuisance if it is privately owned, left abandoned, unmaintained, and tax delinquent for in excess of two years,” according to the CHDC website. The site must be considered a “blight upon the neighborhood,” with futile attempts to locate the owner. The city reserves the right to remove any improvements made to the property by the NAPP partner if the NAPP agreement is terminated.

Neighboring Flossmoor established similar ordinances last year to clean up what the city called the “chronic nuisance” of vacant homes and properties.

According to Illinois Municipal Code, municipalities have the statutory authority to define and abate what they deem public nuisance. “For a behavior or condition to be declared a public nuisance, the behavior or condition must offend a number of people within a specific locality or the community as a whole, not just one individual,” according to the Illinois Municipal League.
“A declared public nuisance must be a real nuisance—meaning that the behavior or condition must be an actual nuisance to the general public, not something abstract.

“The number of abandoned, unmaintained, tax delinquent vacant lots within [Chicago Heights] has reached epidemic proportions,” according to the NAPP program literature. “[These] burden city resources, finances, neighborhoods, home values public safety and the general welfare of the citizenry.”

For more information on the CHDC and how to apply for the NAPP program, visit http://www.chicagoheightsedc.com/ or call 708-821-0711.