REVITALIZATION OF OCONEE HEIGHTS

Board of Commissioners Meeting – 7/6/21

 OUR APPROACH

o A blight survey of all residential properties in Oconee

Heights will be collected on the property's physical
appearance and condition.

o Geographic Information System (GIS)

o Neighborhood Blight Index

o Created by averaging individual property blight scores for

all properties located in each neighborhood.

o Be able to quantify both individual property blight and

neighborhood level blight.
 OCONEE HEIGHTS

Asses Blight &

Community
Assets

Develop
Community Stakeholder
Blight Map & Input
Asset Map
Action/Policy
e.g. Blight
Remediation
Charter
 BLIGHTED LOCATIONS

Blight: land, housing or buildings that appear run-down,

unsafe, abandoned and/or are in unpleasant condition.

In the Community:
- 25 Severely Blighted properties
- 33 Very Blighted properties

 Target individual red properties to push down/clear

 Blight Score Index
1 - No Blight
2 - Slightly Blighted
3 - Moderately Blighted
4 - Very Blighted

0 0.03 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 5 - Severely Blighted

Miles
 RESULTS (BLIGHT INDEX SCORE)

30

25

20
%

15

10

0 Blight Index

No Blight Slightly Blighted Moderatley Blighted Very Blighted Severley Blighted

 R E S U LT S

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Boarded Property Overgrown Abandoned Vehicle Broken Windows
Vegetation

Yes No
 COMMUNITY
MASTER PLAN 
Timeline

Short Term Intermediate  Long Term

≤1 year 1-2 years  2-5 years

Organize Physical Targeted Interventions Funding to Facilitate

(Properties with blight Revitalization
Clean Up  score 4 - 5)
i. Development of land
Recomendations

i. Service day with i. County designation of bank authority

Oconee Heights as a NRZ ii. CHIP or CBDG for
GCSU/GMC/Churches revitalization and Master
i. Develop a Master
& other nonprofit Plan Plan
entities ii. contact property i. Redevelopment of
owners (4-5) severely blighted
iii. Enforcement of properties e.g
ii. City/County work Owner Occupied
codes (4-5) e.g
order clean up activities property tax codes, Home Grants with
(e.g. Tree cutting) property standard Habitat for
ordinance Humanity
 NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION ZONES

“Authorizes municipalities to set up a

process through which groups of residents,
property owners, and businesses in distressed
neighborhoods can develop strategic plans
and work with government agencies to
revitalize the neighborhood”
 GRANT FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT PURSUANT TO FEDERAL LAW

• Eligible CHIP grant applicants include local governments, nonprofits with

501(c)3/(c)4 designation, and public housing authorities.

• Activities and Funding Amounts:

• Housing rehabilitation of owner-occupied homes: grants up to $400,000
• New construction and/or rehabilitation of homes for sale to eligible home
buyers: grants up to $600,000

• Grants may be used to eliminate blight, prevent property

deterioration, and rehabilitate neighborhoods, among other things.
 FURTHER CONSIDERATION

• How blight impacts social development

•

CHSI WILL EVALUATE

1. CRIME INDEX
2. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT INDEX