Louisville Metro Council streamlines process to renovate abandoned property in Portland

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Building and rehabbing homes and businesses in the Portland neighborhood just got a lot easier, now that Louisville Metro Council has voted to get rid of a review process that made it difficult to renovate old buildings.

It could clear the way for developers looking to build new homes or businesses.

"This is a great neighborhood," Portland resident Richard Meadows said.

Meadows has lived in the Portland neighborhood on and off again for 40 years. He moved back four years ago.

Nowadays though, there's a lot of vacant lots and abandoned buildings. They're not only an eyesore, they're also unsafe.

That's why Meadows is happy to see vacant properties finally being addressed.

"It will improve the neighborhood and allow for reinvestment," Meadows said.

The solution starts with tackling fires in vacant buildings.

"When a fire starts in a vacant structure, no one lives there that's going to be calling 911," said Louisville Fire and Rescue Chief Brian O'Neill.

O'Neill said fires in vacant structures have spread to nearby homes and businesses 25% of the time, and if there's no homeowner or resident to report the original fire, "it gets too far gone before we can get the call, respond, and help."

That's why the city has launched a pilot program in the Portland neighborhood. As part of the program, officials are now inspecting homes to get a list of all the empty buildings from Market Street to the river, and between 18th and 26th Streets.

"Our team will contact the owners of vacant lots to clear and secure the property," Richard Price, director of Codes and Regulations, said.

From 2022 to 2023, there were 80 fires at structures that are now in the pilot program zones, according to Price. Now, when abandoned homes are located, officials will put clear boarding in doorways and windows, instead of the typical plywood.

"This type of boarding is much more difficult to breach, and by securing the entrances from the inside, we are confident that trespassing will be strongly deterred," Price said.

"We all deserve an improvement and a facelift in these neighborhoods," Metro Councilwoman Donna Purvis said.

A different group is also working to get rid of the vacant homes in Portland.

On Tuesday Metro council's planning and zoning committee voted to remove a city review process that applied to only the Portland neighborhood. It's a step that presented a roadblock to people interested in renovating or building structures.

The extra step was titled "Category 3." It required a citizen review committee to be involved in such projects, with the goal of protecting the neighborhood from "inappropriate" or "incompatible" development.

That process often discouraged people interested in adding or remodeling buildings in the area.

"It needed to be removed so that developers would know that Portland is open for development," Purvis said.

Purvis believes the changes in regulations will have a ripple effect.

"It can bring good housing," Purvis said. "With good housing you're going to get good neighbors. With good neighbors, you're going to have a quality community, and that's what we want."

The hope is that affordable housing units will soon replace condemned buildings, and that businesses will take over these vacant lots.

"I'm hoping that we can go through a Renaissance period," Purvis said.

City officials want people to reach out about any vacant buildings in the Portland neighborhood, and residents should soon receive a door hanger with information that will make it easy to report them.

Related Content: