GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Members of the Green Cove Springs City Council want to clean up the city, and promoting affordable housing by way of lien reduction will be the first step toward clearing abandoned properties.

Council members voted to release liens on three properties around the city last Tuesday at their regular meeting, the first of the 10 original properties proposed for lien releases.

Several lots around the city have fallen into a state of disrepair. According to city officials, the owners have accumulated years of back taxes and code enforcement violations that left them with hefty liens against the properties. Typically, developers want nothing to do with those properties as a result.

When combining back taxes, title acquisition, legal fees, city code enforcement liens and potential impact fees, potential buyers are already spending tens of thousands of dollars just to get a property in their hands and the city wants to do everything it can to change this.

“We’ve got liens that probably exceed the value of the property,” said Janis Fleet, city development services director.

In an effort to promote developing new housing in the city, Fleet has asked the council to consider reducing or releasing all liens held against properties that will potentially lead to new development.

“The city doesn’t feel like we’re in the position to build houses. All we want to do is turn [the properties] into something positive,” Fleet said. “We’re basically the facilitator, we’re not spending any city dollars, we’re not foreclosing on the property.”

Fleet reported to the council that some of the properties are even more valuable to an organization like Habitat for Humanity, which, in the past, has doubled the value of a lot by turning a single lot into two separate properties with two new affordably-priced homes.

City Attorney Jim Arnold explained that if an organization such as Habitat, or another developer or individual, wanted to take possession of the properties, they would have to first buy a tax certificate and then file for a tax deed which would be sold at auction after the interested party had paid all the back taxes on the property.

If the deed is acquired, the title would have to be obtained through a quiet title lawsuit. The reduction of liens would simply take a step out of the already-complicated process and encourage new development in Green Cove Springs for people who would fix up the properties and stay in line with city code.

“That’s the purpose of code enforcement – to get every property in Green Cove cleaned up, and this is one way to do it,” Arnold said.

Each lien release will be presented to the council for a vote. The three properties that have already been voted on were placed on the June 20 consent agenda and released multiple liens on each property ranging from about $350 to liens of more than $600.

The council members all support the idea, agreeing that this is one way to encourage positive development in their city.

“Habitat for Humanity has really helped change the landscape of some of our neighborhoods,” said council member Pam Lewis.

Steven Kelley echoed Lewis’ support for Habitat, but also clarified that these actions wouldn’t be exclusive to one organization and he would like to see the council offer lien reductions for anyone who wanted to convert the properties into something beneficial to the city’s overall image.

In addition to possible lien releases, Fleet mentioned other benefits for organizations such as Habitat taking on these properties, including a five-year tax exemption and the fact that impact fees, totaling about $10,000 for most properties where homes are built, would be waived if there is already a structure on the property.

“One nice thing is that this sends a message – there are people in this community that need good, affordable housing,” said council member Van Royal.

Arnold agreed with Royal and recounted a meeting he had attended decades ago where the city council at the time had advised him to fight “tooth and nail” to prevent “low income” housing from coming to Green Cove Springs.

“It just goes to show you how things have changed,” Arnold said. “The acceptance of needing workforce housing has changed and the perception [of affordable housing] has certainly changed.”