Quote Originally Posted by lincoln8740 View Post
Large fines only work if the property is worth something, Land in Detroit is basically worthless so fine/ put liens on the property all you want, people just walk away
Sadly, Lincoln has hit the nail precisely on the head. There is no effective way to control blight unless the extreme end of the process - taking over the property for unpaid taxes and liens - is an effective threat. In Detroit, and seeping into some of the suburbs, the property is worth so little that this threat is of no effect. If I have nothing but lint in my pocket, and someone threatens to take everything in my pocket, that is not an effective threat.

Most of the large-scale property owners also know how to protect their companies from any other attempt to control blight. If the City was able to go after a property owner's other assets - which I don't believe it can - then the property owner can always take that particular corporate entity into bankruptcy. Also, the smart property owners have corporations own all the property, since we can't put a corporation in jail.

But the root of the problem is value. If property is valuable, blight can be controlled, and if it's not, it can't. Detroit has to find a way to make the land under the buildings worth money, and that is purely a problem for City government.