The Kentucky House on Friday approved a Senate bill aimed at giving the city of Louisville more authority in dealing with dilapidated housing. Louisville Representative Jerry Miller says there are some 6,000 vacated properties in the river city. “These areas unfortunately were hard hit by the recession and they’ve not bounced back," Miller said. "So what we have are just some properties where the copper and all the metal has been stolen out of them. It is a true crisis in Louisville.”
Bill sponsor Louisville Senator Morgan McGarvey says once a building is deemed blighted by two local governing bodies, the city can withhold the sale of tax liens on that property for up to five years. “It doesn’t expand the power of eminent domain," said McGarvey. "It doesn’t expand the power of condemnation. This is not a silver bullet. This change will be slow, but it will happen."
Louisville Representative Joni Jenkins says citizens who live near the vacant properties experience hardship with declining property values.?
