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Although the report cites “an abundance of criminal activity” in the redevelopment area, it provides no basis for comparison with other parts of the city.
Referring to the Springfield Police Department’s online Crime Reports map, the report notes approximately 445 crime reports were filed “in and around the Redevelopment Area” between June 4 and Nov. 4.
In actuality, the area depicted on the map is more than 10 times as large as the property slated for redevelopment.
A News-Leader request for police reports at the 33 addresses within the redevelopment area turned up just 49 reported crimes for the entire year.
Of those, the greatest number of reports involved stealing from a vehicle (11), liquor law violations (6), residential burglary (5) and stealing (5). No sexual offenses or automobile thefts — specifically listed in the blight application — were included.
Asked about the apparent discrepancy, Smith said “no real standards” have been established for quantifying crime as a factor in blight requests.
“The statute doesn’t lay out any standards,” she said, adding that criminal activity in the redevelopment area was “really not as significant as the structural deterioration and the site deterioration.”
“Safety hazards” such as outdated wiring and asbestos — found in about two-thirds of the properties tested — carried more weight, she said, as did the inefficient use of the property overall.
Zoned for high-density multi-family housing, the 7-acre tract legally could support up to 284 rental units.
It currently contains only about 90 units spread among 30 buildings, many of them old single-family homes subdivided into multiple apartments.
“It’s not the highest and best use of land according to the zoning,” Smith said, arguing the benefits of the project — construction jobs, new business and quality housing stock — are being overshadowed.
So, too, she said, is the actual question council is being asked to answer: “Do the structures and the area meet the statutory definition of blight?”
Smith said she thinks the existing blight report answers that question adequately by “calling out the worst conditions” in the area. But she also intends to meet with Magers and Roth this week to put together additional information for council.
Meant to address questions raised by Rushefsky and others, the memo will include a property-by-property catalogue of blight conditions, Smith said. Magers also intends to provide an accounting of the money he has invested in maintaining various properties over the years.
Rushefsky said she looks forward to reading the report.
“We’ll see what we see, but right now I’m not happy,” she said. “That application is at the very least misleading and needs to be totally revised before I would consider taking a look at it.”