Latrobe eyes regulations, tax abatement to boost property values, curb blight

Latrobe officials are eyeing a registration system that could help hold owners accountable for vacant, abandoned properties in town.

The city also is looking to offer a real estate tax abatement to encourage owners to make improvements to their properties.

The dovetailing measures are meant to promote economic development while curbing blight.

They could be considered for approval by city council in October. A vote could follow a related public hearing proposed at the start of October’s council meeting, according to City Manager Terry Carcella.

There are about 40 properties in the city — mostly homes owned by non-residents — that are considered to have been abandoned, Carcella said.

“They’re not occupied and they don’t have any water or electric service,” he said.

Under the terms of the proposed abandoned property system, owners of identified parcels would have 30 days to register and provide required information upon notice by city officials.

The property would be inspected and the owner would be required to address any code violations. The owner also would pay fees still to be determined — in part, to ensure property maintenance, such as mowing grass, is handled.

“We do want them to be high enough so we have enough money to cover our costs,” Carcella said of the fees. “We need to be reasonable about the fees, but they have to be something that’s going to get people’s attention. Right now, when we send a notice, they ignore it completely.

“There are going to be waivers, if somebody is going into a personal care home or is away on military duty.”

If an owner fails to comply with the property requirements, the city could take the owners to court, Carcella said.

“These are abandoned homes that are causing our community to look bad,” Carcella said. “We can’t continue to do the same thing. We want the owners of these properties to be responsible, and this is one way to get them to do that.

“Folks who pay their taxes just enough to keep their property off a tax sale but still let it deteriorate — we’re done with that. We want to change that scenario.”

Tax abatement plan

The registration system and tax abatement are among approaches suggested by the city’s blight task force and by Steven Gifford, blight program coordinator for the nonprofit Latrobe Community Revitalization Program.

The local tax abatement incentive can be offered under the terms of Pennsylvania’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) legislation.

Gifford said a participating owner who makes a significant investment to upgrade a residential or commercial property would not have to pay taxes on the value of the improvements for a period of 10 years. In lieu of an increased tax bill, the owner would pay into a local blight remediation fund an amount representing 75% of the assessed value of the improvements, while realizing savings equal to the remaining 25%.

“It sounds like house-flippers are going to love LERTA,” said council member Dawn Vavick.

Said Gifford, “That’s actually what you want in your community,” to ultimately increase the value of the city’s housing stock while growing its tax base.

“It encourages more people to invest in our community,” Carcella said of the tax incentive.

He said Latrobe Council has to lay the groundwork for offering a LERTA program in the city, but Greater Latrobe School District and Westmoreland County need to agree to also implement the abatement on their portions of the tax bill to make the incentive effective.

“There’s no reason to think they wouldn’t be on board with it,” he said.

If a participating owner is in arrears on the existing tax bill for a property or doesn’t pay into the blight fund, they could be kicked out of the LERTA program, according to city Solicitor Lee Demosky.