Greater Ohio consulted with the Ohio Attorney General's office to conduct workshops to provide assistance/guidance to Ohio cities receiving demolition funding.

1. Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program for
Demolition Funding
GREATER OHIO POLICY
CENTER STAFF
Lavea Brachman
Executive Director
Alison D. Goebel
Associate Director
Samantha Spergel
Research Associate
Workshop
Columbus, OH
June 8, 2012

2. Greater Ohio Policy Center
• Mission: Advance public policy and local projects
that grow Ohio’s economy and improve the
quality of life through intelligent land use.
• Support redevelopment of existing communities,
strengthen regional cooperation and protect the
countryside and Ohio's natural resources.
• Non-partisan, non-profit, primarily foundation-
funded

3. Greater Ohio Policy Center
• Conduct and commission research
• Use research to advocate for practical policy
solutions at the state and federal level
• Play an advisory role to state level officials,
General Assembly and local officials
• Project-based work with local partners

4. Overview of Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program
The Ohio Attorney General has allocated a total
of $75 Million to all 88 counties in Ohio to
demolish vacant, abandoned and blighted
properties

5. Moving Ohio Forward Required Attachments
• Attachment 1-Application Summary Document
• Attachment 2-Authorizing Resolution or
Ordinance
• Attachment 3-Strategic Plan
• Attachment 4-Sources and Uses of Funds
(complete the fillable portion of the application)
• Attachment 5-Match Supporting Documentation
• Attachment 6-Remedial Action Plan
• Attachment 7-Project Assumptions/Cost Estimate

6. Moving Ohio Forward Required Attachments
• Attachment 8- Reimbursement Request
Report is a cover page required to be
submitted with each payment request.
• Attachment 9-Final Performance Report is
required to be submitted after the conclusion
of the grant program and no later than
December 31, 2014.

7. Greater Ohio Policy Center
The Office of Attorney General Mike DeWine has
contracted with GOPC to advise communities on
their Strategic Plan (Application Attachment 3)
and Site Eligibility.
GOPC assistance involves:
• 2 workshops
• Email & Phone consultation
• In person, as needed

8. Important Due Dates to Moving Ohio
Forward Grant Program
Application Submission Deadline: June 30, 2012-5:00pm
Grant Award Date: August 1, 2012
Project Completion Date: December 31, 2013
Final Drawdown Date: January 31, 2014
Final Performance Report Due Date: December 31, 2014

9. Overview of Presentation
• Site Eligibility
• Strategic Demolition
– Defining strategic demolition – five guiding principles
– Targeted Areas
• Completing Attachment 3
– Conditions of Buildings
– Failed Market Conditions
– Engaging Stakeholders
– Selecting Contractors
– Land Reuse Options

10. Site Eligibility: Residential “anti-blight”
“Residential” means a structure is:
• land zoned for residential use
• being used as a residential dwelling
• has been used as a residential dwelling
• connected to any structure that is
currently used or has previously been
properly used as a residential dwelling as
mixed use.

11. Site Eligibility
Moving Ohio Forward Funds cannot be
used for:
• commercial or industrial projects
• maintenance or post-demolition costs
• demolition of structure which are not
blighted, vacant or abandoned
• property acquisition

12. Eligibility: Site Acquisition
Acquisition of blighted residential property
is anticipated through:
• Tax-delinquent foreclosure process
• Nuisance abatement
• Condemnation
• Consent
• Other voluntary means of purchase.

13. Strategic Demolition –
Five Guiding Principles
Strategic Demolition maximizes
strategic impact of demolition
and
help applicants maximize impact of program
funding to improve neighborhoods and property
values

14. Defining Strategic Demolition:
Five Guiding Principles
1. Demolition is a step in the process toward
neighborhood revitalization.
2. Any community-wide demolition plan should
establish rational criteria for selecting neighborhoods
to target buildings to demolish and retain.
3. Applicants should get input from a range of
stakeholders.
4. Demolition does not benefit all neighborhoods
equally.
5. A well-thought out post-demolition reuse plan can
prevent newly vacant land from becoming a
problem.

15. 1. Demolition is a step in the process
toward neighborhood revitalization.
• Demolition is not an end to itself- it is one strategy to
stabilizing or revitalizing neighborhoods.
• Connecting demolition activities to other
revitalization efforts underway ensures demolition is
part of a larger redevelopment strategy.
• Linking demolition to redevelopment ensures a
larger Return On Investment.

16. 2. Demolition plans should establish
rational criteria.
• Local governments should develop priorities
to guide their demolition activities.
• Resources should be coordinated and as
comprehensive as possible, and dedicated to
stabilizing neighborhoods that are undergoing
challenges.

17. 3. Applicants should get input from a range
of stakeholders.
Discussions on demolition criteria should
include a wide range of interests and
viewpoints, both within and outside
government.

18. 4. Demolition does not benefit all
neighborhoods equally
Severely distressed neighborhoods face so many challenges
that demolition may not be enough to overcome the legacy
of disinvestment. However, demolition can have outsized
impact in certain neighborhoods.
Demolition is most impactful when it:
• Stabilizes neighborhood conditions
• Stabilizes property values
• Create a variety of attainable reuse opportunities

19. 5. Reuses of Land
Demolition will lead to vacant land.
• Good planning, solid community strategy, and clear-eyed
understanding of local capacity can ensure that newly created
vacant land is used productively, and does not become a
problem.
• Local governments may want to prioritize demolition to be
used for land that has specific re-use potential.
• Some parcels may remain vacant.
• Local governments and their partners should try to establish
protocol for maintaining vacant land.

20. Value of Strategic Demolition
• A study done by the Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland shows that vacant homes can
decrease sales prices of nearby homes by
2.2%
• If the home has been tax delinquent,
foreclosed and vacant, the sales prices of
neighboring homes decreases by 17.8%.

21. Value of Strategic Demolition
• By demolishing a vacant home, the median
sales price of a neighboring home increases by
$1,340.
• If the home had been tax delinquent,
foreclosed and vacant prior to demolishment
the median sales price increased by $15,000.

22. Determining a Strategic Plan
Priority should be given to areas where removal
of individuals buildings is likely to help stabilize
neighborhood conditions and property values
and create potential reuse opportunities.

23. Determining a Strategic Plan
Strategic demolition goals are demonstrated by
addressing:
– A description of the blight and abandonment
conditions
– The target area benefits from the demolition
– The demolition is linked to potential property
reuse and area-wide revitalization.

24. Strategic Approaches:
Menu of Options
• Wholesale demolition in a target area is part
of a larger comprehensive strategy that will
positively benefit the neighborhood and
surroundings areas.
• Selected demolition
• Dispersed demolition

25. Wholesale Demolition
Wholesale demolition is only appropriate in very
select conditions.
Wholesale demolition would be used to create a
“clean slate” in a neighborhood that is almost
completely disinvested.

26. Wholesale Demolition
Photo from a block in Detroit where 60 of 66 houses
are abandoned or vacant.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2009/04/singularity.html

27. Selective Demolition
Selective demolition acts as extra reinforcement to keep
a neighborhood from further degrading. In practice, this
may be 1 or 2 houses, on average, per block in an eight
block neighborhood.
Selective demolition is often appropriate in
neighborhoods that still have vitality and market demand.
Often these neighborhoods are called “tipping point”
neighborhoods.

28. Leveraging the value of selective demolition
• A strong social fabric, reflected in strong
neighborhood or civic associations or neighborhood-
level institutions
• Active CDC-led stabilization or revitalization activities
• Great market potential, such as distinctive housing
stock, or location to a strong anchor intuition
• A significant planned public investment, such as a
new school

29. Selective Demolition

30. Dispersed Demolition
Dispersed demolition removes isolated problem
properties before they start to negatively impact
the surrounding area.

31. Dispersed Demolition
In suburban and
urban areas,
dispersed
demolition can be
appropriate for
single problem
properties in
otherwise strong
market
neighborhoods. Photo courtesy of Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corporation

32. Dispersed Demolition
In rural areas that do not have widespread
vacancies, dispersed demolition can be
appropriate for:
• Mitigating health/safety hazards, particularly
in small villages
• Harmonizing land use; for example removing
an abandoned house near a county industrial
park to address aesthetic and safety issues

33. Targeted Areas
Strategic demolition maximizes benefits for
communities.
Identifying targeted areas (assumed in
Attachment 3 ) maximizes the ability to be
strategic

34. Identifying “Target Areas”
Prior to answering the five questions outlined in
the Moving Ohio Forward Application, local
governments need to identify the specific
“areas” or neighborhoods they are targeting.

35. Using Targeted Neighborhood Investment
to Identify Target Areas in Cities
• Targeted Neighborhood Investment is a
strategy by which local governments choose
to devote extra resources to specific
communities.
• The TNI strategy matches neighborhoods
needs with the right resources to ensure funds
are used as effectively as possible.

36. Youngstown TNI Example
• Youngstown Neighborhood Development
Corporation (YNDC) has focused its resources
and energies on three specific neighborhoods
which have been “tipping point”
neighborhoods with declining housing values,
population loss, and increased vacancies.

37. Youngstown TNI Example
Public, private, and nonprofit investments are
targeted to Crandall Park North, Lincoln Park,
and Idora because these neighborhoods have:
• Existing community networks and block groups
• Majority owner-occupied homes
• Access to community amenities
• Attractive residences

38. Attachment 3
Writing Attachment 3

39. Five Sections of Attachment 3
1. Building Conditions:
– Provide a brief description of the dilapidated
condition of buildings(s) selected for demolition with
the following criteria as a guide.
2. Failed market conditions
– of target area and its relation to the rest of the
surrounding community
3. Stakeholder inclusion
4. Contractors selection process
5. Proposed land reuse options

40. Attachment 3
Section 1
Of Attachment 3

41. Building Conditions
– How does the targeted property/area affect
neighboring property values, safety, and
revitalization activities
– How the building poses a danger to public health
or safety
– Likely cost to rehab building substantially
outweigh the value
– Description of other criteria that will be used to
identify structures for demolition

42. Building Conditions:
How targeted property affects neighboring property values,
safety and revitalization activities?
• Are property values of
neighboring homes
declining?
• Is the building near a
school/library/public
park?
• Is the building inhibiting
new construction?
• Has the neighborhood
begun to see other
revitalization activities?

43. Building Conditions: Danger to public
health or safety
• Has crime in the
neighborhood
increased?
• Does the building
pose an
environmental
concern?
• Does the building fit
the “blighted parcel”
criteria?

44. Building Conditions: Cost of Rehab
• Would the cost
to rehab to 2X
the cost to
demolish?
• Is there any
substantial
market value in
rehabbing the
home? Photo courtesy of Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corporation

45. Building Conditions: Other criteria
• Does the presence of the
building add to the
existing neighborhood
texture? Would removing
a building compromise
the texture?
• Does the demolition align
with community
priorities?
• What are the market and
neighborhood
conditions?

46. Building Conditions: Collecting information
• Much of this information has already
been identified in a community's
Comprehensive Plan or through the work
of the Community Development
Department.
• Some analysis can be obtained from a
simple exterior survey of the building and
its surroundings.

47. Building Conditions Decisions
• Setting neighborhoods priorities will help determine
demolition choices.
• Besides emergency demolitions, demolitions should
be made through a decision process that takes into
account a range of factors.
• Demolition decisions will not be clear-cut.
• Decisions will involve balancing many different
factors.

48. Attachment 3
Section 2
Of Attachment 3

49. Failed Market Conditions
– Does the housing stock constitute a present or potential
nuisance (i.e. breed crime, negatively affect nearby
property values)?
– Are there additional safety concerns? Is the blighted
property near a school?
– Does demolition maintain the social fabric and historical
nature of the neighborhood?
– Percentage of owner-occupied buildings, absentee owner
buildings, vacant buildings and vacant lots, if available.
– Does demolition fit into the local government’s
comprehensive plan of redevelopment for the overall
community for improving property values, and increasing
private investment and redevelopment? If so, how?

50. Failed Market Conditions:
Local Governments look for
– valuable impact on selected neighborhoods.
– stabilization impact on select
neighborhood, but surrounding
communities as well by assessing the city
and regional market and texture.
– rooted in current revitalization activities
and goals already outlined by the
community.

51. Failed Market Conditions: Information
Collection
• Quantifying conditions can help justify demolition
choices.
• Informational data on crime rates, declining property
values, median age of property, etc. can be found
through:
• jurisdiction’s community development department
• jurisdiction’s police department
• U.S. Census
• FBI Crime Reports

52. Attachment 3
Section 3
Of Attachment 3

53. Stakeholder Inclusion
• Identify specific partners and stakeholders:
• Nonprofits
• Public entities
• Community groups
• Institutions, like colleges
Identify how stakeholder feedback is solicited:
• Interviews
• Public meetings
• Surveys

54. Attachment 3
Section 4
Of Attachment 3

55. Selecting Contractors
The application should explain:
• The process for selecting contractors for
demolition
• Provide a brief time-line to prove
capacity and ability to spend funding in a
timely manner.

56. Selecting Contractors
Attorney General requires contractors to have:
– Liability Insurance
– Workers Compensation
– Checking the Federal and State debarment list
– Documenting policy and procedures for barring poor
performing contractors from continuing to participate in
the program
– Having policies regarding a Drug Free Workplace and EEO
– Knowledgeable of and understand Ohio Ethics and Conflict
of Interest of Laws.

57. Selecting Contractors
There is no one specified process for selecting
contractors. Applicants have a variety of options when
choosing contractors including:
– Demolition as competitive bid
– Demolition in-house with city crews and
equipment
– Put out competitive bid packages for multiple
demolitions
– Fixed Price or retainer contracts
– Negotiated or sole source contracts
– Deconstruction contractors

58. Attachment 3
Section 5
Of Attachment 3

59. Land Reuse Options
For Question 5 the application requires
applicants to describe proposed plans for land
reuse options.
The answer should describe the details for
Selective demolition
And/or
Wholesale demolition

60. Land Reuse Options: Strategy
Selective and wholesale demolition leads
to the creation of vacant land.
• Using established priorities, market and
neighborhood conditions and feedback
from stakeholders, local governments
can develop a strategy for land post-
demolition.

61. Why is Land Re-use Strategy Important?
Improving commercial corridors,
streetscapes, parks, and cleaning vacant
lots at the same time, have the potential
for the greatest impact on struggling
neighborhoods.

62. Why is Land Re-use Strategy Important?
Home values can increase more than 25%
when they are near improvements to
streetscapes, such as:
• street tree plantings
• container plantings
• small pocket parks
• parking lot screens and median plantings

63. Why is Land Re-use Strategy Important?
Proximity to a neglected vacant lot
subtracts 20 percent from the base value
from a nearby home
A home near a stabilized lot—one that has
been improved through cleaning and
greening—increases by approximately
15% the home’s base value

64. Land Re-Use Strategy
Different demolition methods produce
different land reuse options that local
governments can undertake.

65. Selected Demolition example of Land Reuse
Removed house
to create green
side lot on
Brentwood St,
Youngstown
Photos courtesy of Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corporation

66. Other Selected Demolition
• Other options for selected site demolition
include:
– Side Lots
– Mini-Parks
– Park Expansion
– Stabilization/minimal treatment
– Pathways
– Off-street parking

67. Wholesale Demolition example
of Land Reuse
Removed abandoned
six-plex and replaced
with an urban
agriculture site.
Youngstown
Photo courtesy of Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corporation

68. Other Selected Demolition
• For larger scale demolition some land-reuse options
include:
– Community gardens
– Community orchards
– Urban agriculture
– Daylighting streams, waterways and floodplains
– Greening
– Expansive Redevelopment

69. Other examples of Land Reuse
Demolition
can prepare
a lot for
potential
reuse in the
future

70. Attachment 3
Attachment 3 Basics

71. Moving Ohio Forward Application Basics
• Review Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program
Demolition Guidelines before completing
application.
• Applications must include all attachments and
supporting documentation.
• Pages of the application without fill-in fields shall
be typed using font size no smaller than 12 point.
• All pages should be numbered indicating the
section, attachment number and page number.

72. Example of Attachment 3
Example Attachment 3
Available at GOPC’s website:
www.greaterohio.org.

73. Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center is available to advise
applicants through:
• Email
• Phone
• In person, as needed
For our assistance, please contact:
Samantha Spergel, Research Associate
sspergel@greaterohio.org
614-224-1087

74. Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program for Demolition
Funding
QUESTIONS?
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