Duluth To Start Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program (Minneapolis, St. Paul: city hall, lease)

[letshavesomereason]

Here's where I have a problem. I live in a 2003 home, well kept up, my house was just reappraised for more than we original paid. We spent money with Boreal natives to come in and plant native plants. We monitor the plants daily to keep out invasive species. Problem, they are wildflowers and they are tall but they are also a rain garden and work to keep runoff going into the lake. We have birds, bees, butterflies that visit our yard. We have a rain barrel in the back and an electric lawn mower for the limited grass we have. We planned and care for our place but we just got a "abandoned" house notice by the blight reduction team. Guest who come to my house love it. It is like a cottage in the city and yet we were targeted. Why do we all have to have lawns which take watering and most people using gas mowers and prevent runoff - why is this the standard? So, while I applaud the ordinance - let's have some ability to tell the difference and just because it is tall does not make it ugly or damaging properties. If they had even come up our drive they would have seen, but they didn't and I will fight this. Just a viewpoint not being presented yet on this thread.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

Case and point, this witch hunt is being supported by the elitist in town.
No compassion for a situation that is out of there white picket fence stobervill norm.

Maybe putting up house number can be done for under $50 but that's about it. A broken window or some paint will cost much more to fix. A new lawnmower $300+ or fuel oil?

That broke mom could be your mom or anyone's mom.
I'm sure she wanted to be poor, single with 2+ kids and struggling to get by, so now your solution is to move her to an apartment. goon.
Responsibility's. get a clue.

It seams folks like you are not satisfied running your own life you have to tell the rest of how to live too?

IF you wish to live in a sterilized community then go build it and live there.

Where does it end? Are we going the way some communities have out East? (coast)
No boats, campers, snowmobiles, 4wheelers or trucks over 3/4 ton can be parked or stored on your property. No working on a vehicle in the driveway. You will have to rent a storage area to keep them at. I mean if you can afford the toys then you can afford a storage area too, right. Grass not over 3" tall and every home painted a shade of beige with matching mailboxes?


Like I said we have bigger problems but we seam to get caught up in the little things and ignore what is really happening or the tough problems.

I agree. If Kid Cann wants a monotonous, controlled community, he can move to Bearpath in Edina or North Oaks, both in Minnesota, so at least he'll be close to home. He definitely earns the name "Kid" with his immature lack of compassion. I'll take my Duluth, blight and all, any day over a restrictive community.

[snofarmer]

Who made this decision?
A fireman/woman?
What are there qualifications?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm surprised they didn't use eminent-domain to take your home and tare it down.

Originally Posted by letshavesomereason

Here's where I have a problem. We planned and care for our place but we just got a "abandoned" house notice by the blight reduction team. Just a viewpoint not being presented yet on this thread.

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If the Fire Dept has sooooo much extra time on there hands that they can take on another task, then they should be able to keeps all of the city's fire hydrants clear of snow this winter.

[knke0204]

How about you Duluth bums just take care of your crappy homes? That's all the blight reduction is for.

I just moved away from Duluth because it's a garbage city. It's a city that draws over 20,000 college students each year but retains about 1% of them. Wonder why? Everyone from the 'Cities' just calls Duluth trashy.

So, cool. Keep your blight. Keep your rust belt, decaying garbage of a **** city. That's what it is. Is a *****. Just gets trampled on by tourists and college students and all you Duluthians wonder why the city keeps losing people, keeps getting older and will never be a significant town in the State.

[snofarmer]

I'm just board this am so I thought I would take this one.

Originally Posted by knke0204

How about you Duluth bums just take care of your crappy homes? That's all the blight reduction is for.

You are wrong, it is much more than that.

I just moved away from Duluth because it's a garbage city.
See Ya.
What is a garbage city? Is it build out of garbage?

It's a city that draws over 20,000 college students each year but retains about 1% of them. Wonder why?

Nope, it would be unrealistic to think we would retain even 0.1% .
If we retained 20,000 people a year we would be a megalopolis in no time.

Everyone from the 'Cities' just calls Duluth trashy.
Yet most of our tourism comes from the "cities"?


So, cool. Keep your blight. Keep your rust belt, decaying garbage of a **** city.

Technically we are not in the rust belt and Mpls uses the same chemicals on the streets,


That's what it is. Is a *****.
Folks with a low educational level will use swear words out of frustration in there inabilities to communicate.


Just gets trampled on by tourists and college students and all you Duluthians wonder why the city keeps losing people, keeps getting older and will never be a significant town in the State.

Everything gets older. We are a collage & tourist town so being "trampled? by them is a good thing.

Duluth's population has stabilized and is actually growing in the 60 and over demographics.

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

We are a collage & tourist...

I don't mean to nitpick, but I just can't take it anymore. College.

[snofarmer]

Well Duluth is a big artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines and color.

I only have an AAS degree and a tech school certificate.


Hey, quit picking on the dyslexic kid.(lol) At least I speled it correctly and I refrained from using profanity to get my point across.
I guess it's not a reflection on education as much as it is a reflection on how you were raised.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

I'm just board this am so I thought I would take this one.



Everything gets older. We are a collage & tourist town so being "trampled? by them is a good thing.

Duluth's population has stabilized and is actually growing in the 60 and over demographics.

Originally Posted by knke0204
How about you Duluth bums just take care of your crappy homes? That's all the blight reduction is for.

You are wrong, it is much more than that.
Not really, the majority of the problem is decaying homes. Remember, I worked for the city when this was getting started. It's for the people who think they are doing a good deed by owning a home, but for some reason cannot maintain it. Over 50% of the city's housing stock was built before 1950.

I just moved away from Duluth because it's a garbage city.
See Ya.
What is a garbage city? Is it build out of garbage?
See ya. It's quite ironic as the majority of older Duluthians I spoke to many times would comment on how they wish some of the people would stick around after school instead of flocking back to the 'cities'. And yeah, quite frankly it's a city that is in pretty bad shape.

It's a city that draws over 20,000 college students each year but retains about 1% of them. Wonder why?

Nope, it would be unrealistic to think we would retain even 0.1% .
If we retained 20,000 people a year we would be a megalopolis in no time.
It's really not economically justifiable to have kids come use the roads/water/ and abuse the homes, rarely contributing to society, and then just leaving. The city gets used and abused.

Everyone from the 'Cities' just calls Duluth trashy.
Yet most of our tourism comes from the "cities"?
Exactly. Right to little ol' Canal Park. Do you think those tourists care about Duluth? No. Since I've been back here in the Metro I have often heard "Yeah, Duluth is a great city to visit, but I could not live there". Why does Duluth have this reputation? I wonder?

So, cool. Keep your blight. Keep your rust belt, decaying garbage of a **** city.

Technically we are not in the rust belt and Mpls uses the same chemicals on the streets,
Technically not, but the remnats of pre WWII decayed developments are everywhere. I couldn't believe it when I lived there. I'd drive by a 1920s building that probably once was beautiful that now is some abondoned dump.


That's what it is. Is a *****.
Folks with a low educational level will use swear words out of frustration in there inabilities to communicate.
No, City Data is just like big brother and censors everything. I was trying to say "The city is a ..w..h..o..r..e..." and it is. just gets used by toursits and students and lets the low income residents pay for it.


Just gets trampled on by tourists and college students and all you Duluthians wonder why the city keeps losing people, keeps getting older and will never be a significant town in the State.

[northstar22]

Duluth is a w_____? Are you serious?! Knke, I love reading your posts, but you're totally wrong here. In my opinion, the Cities suck. People packed on top of each other, high traffic, high crime, high cost of living and no character. The main reason people move to the Cities is money. I'm sure many college students would rather stay in Duluth (Duluth is NOT a college town), but the lack of jobs draws them to the Cities. Mankato gets a lot of new residents too because our economy is moving.

Duluth is a significant Minnesota town, as are Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, Winona and Bemidji. Greater Minnesota is the true Minnesota. The Cities are just urban Anytown, USA.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by flyingwriter

Duluth is a w_____? Are you serious?! Knke, I love reading your posts, but you're totally wrong here. In my opinion, the Cities suck. People packed on top of each other, high traffic, high crime, high cost of living and no character. The main reason people move to the Cities is money. I'm sure many college students would rather stay in Duluth (Duluth is NOT a college town), but the lack of jobs draws them to the Cities. Mankato gets a lot of new residents too because our economy is moving.

Duluth is a significant Minnesota town, as are Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, Winona and Bemidji. Greater Minnesota is the true Minnesota. The Cities are just urban Anytown, USA.

I get what you're saying..I have really no problem with Duluth. I just moved away from there. I loved it. There are sites in Duluth that the Twin Cities cannot match.... However, the biggest problem with that city is decay and blight. Many roads are beyond deterriorated and 2/3 of the housing stock was built before 1950. With the major job losses and lack there of (jobs) one can easily figure out why the city is like that. But what i noticed in the 2 years of living there is that there is a giant push back from residents and businss owners to push ahead and emerge from the 'Rust Belt' shadow. Yes, it may take some nitpicking of your yard, but that's the start of the snowball. After that, the next thing you know the city will have cleaner homes, nicer streets, fixed up buildings and homes, better sidewalks and so-forth.

I like to use the "Broken Window" theory. If you walk by a home with a broken window, chances are another rock will be thrown through another window in that home or the one next door.

I mean how often can you walk out your back door and have this in just a 10 block walk like i did when i lived there/

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs043.snc4/34495_687361530381_56000713_39046636_6218413_n.jpg (broken link)