In response to the recent attention of several high profile fires of vacant buildings in Richmond and the publication of more than 3,000 vacant properties on the city of Richmond's "blight" list, several bloggers from Richmond have created the web site "www.VacantRichmond.com" that makes it not only possible for local citizens to track and comment about troubled properties in their neighborhoods, but also for city officials and others to follow and keep track of neighborhood comments and concerns.
Richmond VA (PRWEB) April 27, 2007 -- In response to the recent attention of several high profile fires of vacant buildings in Richmond and the publication of more than 3,000 vacant properties on the city of Richmond's "blight" list, several bloggers from Richmond have created the web site "www.VacantRichmond.com" that makes it not only possible for local citizens to track and comment about troubled properties in their neighborhoods, but also for city officials and others to follow and keep track of neighborhood comments and concerns.
At a recent neighborhood meeting, Police Chief Rodney Monroe made it clear that a key component of action in blight cases was to present to a judge public comments and pictures in cases in which a judge may then render a decision against the offending owner. He challenged the community to become more involved in tackling this issue, and this web site helps engage that challenge.
"VacantRichmond (http://vacantrichmond.com ) was developed by PharrOut (http://pharrout.com ) and Farrell IT ( http://farrellit.com/) after meetings with several local bloggers, and it uses the city of Richmond's blight spreadsheet to list properties in various neighborhoods.
After the recent fire near 1708 Gallery and Sound of Music Studios on Broad St., several concerned bloggers voiced a need for an easy way to find and discuss neglected properties in the city. They wanted a centralized web site where they could view blighted properties, find out who owned them, and be able to exchange comments with neighbors as well as report trouble to the police and local council representatives.
In light of a recent fire this week a few blocks away on Grace St., the site's release is a timely addition to fighting blight in the city.
PharrOut and Farrell IT built www.VacantRichmond.com to facilitate discussion and, hopefully, improvements to those neglected properties -- making Richmond a better and safer place to live and work.
Concerned neighbors can enter an address in a search box to find properties the city considers vacant in their neighborhood. They can also view city-published information on property owners and start and maintain commentary about recent activity at said vacant properties.
The site also lists police and City Council contacts for offending properties in their areas. It also allows users to find other properties from the same owner in other parts of the city.
The site will soon add the ability to post pictures of offending properties as well as additional features.
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