City Council
Neglected hillsides may become permanently protected open spaces.
Neglected hillside lots could become permanently protected open space under a $25,000 grant to buy tax-delinquent land. However, a council member asked how the city would prevent dumping, which is common at some sites. A city planner said departments are looking to build a long-term maintenance plan. For now, council has held the related bills for one week.
Written by Amy Whipple
New greenways would be designed to create a green ribbon to tie neighborhoods to each other.
The Open Space Institute awarded the city a $25,000 grant to acquire privately-owned tax-delinquent land to improve greenway connectivity.
Dash said the city can use the funds to purchase neglected spaces such as hillside lots through treasurer’s sale or the land bank. These would become permanently conserved, primarily passive open spaces.
According to Dash, DCP completed a parcel-by-parcel analysis to identify potential purchases to add to the city’s 12 existing greenways or to create new ones.
Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield asked how the city would prevent dumping at some of the sites where it is currently a common occurrence.
“I don’t believe that, as a city, we can continue to rely on twice-a-year community cleanups,” she said. “If we’re going to take ownership of these hillsides, they will be ours. So, what is the plan?”
Principal Environmental Planner Isabella Gross said that by creating an official greenways program — it has informally existed since 1980 — DCP can obtain additional grants. Funding could help support nonprofit partners such as Landforce and Allegheny Cleanways in large-scale cleanups. She also said DCP and the Department of Public Works are looking to build a long-term maintenance plan for these spaces.
Council moved to hold all five bills for one week.
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