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The lots -- 811 Monson St. and 1412 Washington St. -- are two of seven overgrown and littered private properties the city has cleared at no cost to the owners through its vacant-lot remediation program. Now officials seek more residents interested in participating.
Started in January, the program designated a six-month window in which the city would clear residents' lots at no charge with the owners' consent. Afterward, if the owners fail to maintain their lots, the city could file a lien equal to the cost of the cleanup, plus any additional work it might have to do to make a property comply with city standards, city officials said.
The City Council allocated $50,000 for the program. The first seven lots cost about $3,500 total to clear, said city comptroller Mack Cook.
In January, Beaufort had about 27 vacant lots so crowded with overgrown vegetation they were impossible to mow, according to a report by Cook. Many of those lots are in the downtown Northwest Quadrant neighborhood.
A study group formed by the city last year to work with residents and design ways to revitalize the Northwest Quadrant recommended the idea, prompting a citywide cleanup project and later the remediation program.
Pete Palmer, study group chairman, said Monday he plans to return to the Northwest Quadrant Neighborhood Association to solicit its help in finding more participants.
"Property owners don't always trust the city," Palmer said. "Sometimes it takes seeing a few (lots cleared) and seeing that there are no repercussions."
As Palmer and others helping with the program walked around the freshly cleared lots on Monson and Washington streets Monday, two residents approached Mayor Billy Keyserling to thank the city.
Sometimes the city has to spend money to "help people get going," Keyserling said, especially when the work creates a cleaner and safer public environment.
Sue Rainey, owner of the lots at the corner of Monson and Washington streets, visited the site and thanked the city. The property was littered and overgrown in the early 1990s when she purchased it, she said.
"She bought it, she sat on it and she didn't have the wherewithal to (clear it)," Keyserling said. "An owner gets behind, you help them catch up."
The city hired Oliver's Bush Hogging of Beaufort to clear the first seven lots in the program. Pointing at Rainey's property, clearing-company owner Walter Oliver said they found tires and mounds of trash -- and even sinks -- among the overgrown vegetation.
"One lady said she was scared to walk by these lots, afraid someone might hide back here and jump out," Oliver said. "A lot of the neighbors have been asking if we can clear all of the (vacant properties) in the neighborhood."
