Phila. Lawmakers Advance Measure To Give Cleanup Crews Access To Vacant Lots
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City clean-up crews in Philadelphia may soon have the authority to clip the locks on fenced-in vacant lots that are left in disrepair.
An L&I program called "CLIP" (Community Life Improvement Program) cleans up vacant lots in certain neighborhoods. But the crews and neighbors have long been stymied when the lots that need cleaning are locked up.
Now, a City Council committee has approved a measure that gives CLIP crews the authority to pop the locks in order to get inside (see previous story).
"This will help us out, especially when we're cleaning every other vacant lot on a block and we have to leave one because it's fenced in," says Tom Conway, who heads up the CLIP program. "A lot of these have not been cleaned in years, and you're talking about eight-foot-high weeds in there. And it's not fair to the neighbors who live on this block."
Conway says the city has about 40,000 vacant lots, and only about 17,000 are properly maintained.
The measure goes to the full Council for final approval next month.
