Pennsauken’s Howarth Tackling Abandoned And Vacant Properties
By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
A longtime resident has been charged by Township Committee to tackle Pennsauken’s abandoned and vacant property issue. Tracey Howarth has joined the Township’s municipal staff and is spearheading this very important initiative.
“Abandoned and vacant properties are an issue in every town; New Jersey has one of the highest foreclosure rates,” explains Howarth. “As a Township, we really want to focus on this so that families living here can be proud of their town and we can attract young families to move here and keep the town thriving.”
Howarth, a 42-year resident and member of Pennsauken High School’s Class of ’79, is leveraging her 36 years of managerial experience to this new position.
“To deal with this issue, we have to go from the bottom up; no one town or organization has all the answers,” says Howarth. “We have to coordinate the efforts of all Pennsauken’s internal departments who have already started working on this issue, and utilize tools and programs offered by outside resources and other municipalities to get results. We’re creating a playbook from scratch.
“There is no one silver bullet. We have to employ multiple tools to address this issue. And not every tool will work in every part of town. We have to customize our approach by neighborhood.”
Howarth went on to explain the multiple phases involved in this initiative. The first stage is information gathering: where the properties are, who owns it, what financial institution is attached, and what stage of the process the home is in. Stage two involves employing a variety of tools, such as special tax sales, accelerated foreclosure process, and spot blight eminent domain, to address abandoned and vacant homes throughout town. “We need to use the right tools in specific areas in town in order to make an impact.” Thirdly, the process needs to be maintained so that abandoned and vacant homes can be quickly addressed as soon as the Township is made aware of them.
Another part of the equation is to identify programs that will help keep residents in their homes and to share that information with the community.
“People deserve to keep their houses and there are programs that can help,” says Howarth. “We’ll be communicating this important information in a variety of different ways so that our community is aware of what’s available to them.”
Howarth also stressed the importance of the Township and the community working together in order take action on Pennsauken’s abandoned and vacant property issue.
“It takes a partnership of all of the town’s internal and external resources to collect the best information, utilize the best tools and get the best result – and residents are very much part of that equation. We encourage them to reach out. If they see a house or see this type of activity in their neighborhood, let us know. We’ll do everything we can to help.”
Tracey Howarth can be contacted by calling (856) 665-1000 x145 or by e-mailing thowarth@twp.pennsauken.nj.us.
