The Pine Bluff City Council Planning and Development Committee recommended Tuesday that the full council consider how to proceed with municipal-owned vacant lots that the city cannot use but people may want to buy.
Aldermen Lloyd Holcomb Jr. and Charles Boyd heard from Zoning Department Director Mitzi Ruth. Ruth told the aldermen that the city owns two adjacent properties east of 5310 W. 12th Ave. that are covered in mature trees. Ruth said that two people have offered to pay $300 to acquire the properties, which are officially listed as Eureka Heights No. 1 Addition, Block 48, Lots 7 and 8.
There are no liens on the property, she said. The prospective buyers spent $250 to do a title search, she said.
“The city owns several vacant lots on the west side,” Ruth said.
Boyd said that many people live next to municipal-owned lots. He proposed taking an inventory of these lots and erecting a “for sale” sign to inform people that they can buy the properties.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said the city received many properties as gifts. Many of the properties are too small to have a house and are covered with vegetation and garbage, she said.
“Some lots are an eyesore,” Hollingsworth said. “People get frustrated with the overgrown vegetation. During the growing season, these lots are a huge headache to maintain.”
Other people own vacant properties but fail to maintain them, Hollingsworth said. As a result, the city spends time to hire a landscaping contractor to cut the grass, she said.
On a conversation about whether the city can set one price for any vacant lot, Hollingsworth said that “we want to be fair. We are reviewing options as to whether prices need to be set or if we should operate on a first-come first-served basis.”
Alderman Glen Brown Jr., the third member of the committee, was absent.