O’Hara, Etna residents can take advantage of county program to fight blight

O’Hara and Etna residents can take advantage of an Allegheny County program to fight blight and at the same time expand their property at a discounted price.

The 2020 Side Yard and Blighted Structure Program runs for a limited time through Sept. 30.

It assists residents who want to buy and transform vacant or dilapidated properties into usable space.

“This program provides opportunities for residents to enlarge or even have a yard in our densely populated community,” Etna Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity at these reduced costs and without the entanglement of hiring your own attorney.”

O’Hara and Etna are among 48 municipalities in the program.

There are others programs throughout the year that offer assistance to buy tax delinquent or vacant properties.

Officials said it benefits residents as well as the community because it helps people to expand their property without the burden of owing back taxes.

Ramage said the borough has used the program twice — once for property to develop a rain garden on Freeport Street and another time to acquire a lot that will become an EcoPark along Grant Avenue.

The county will accept up to 60 applications in the order they are received but no more than five per municipality.

O’Hara Manager Julie Jakubec said the program provides a way to take unsightly properties and put them back into use as side yards, parks and green space, or other uses.

“It allows property owners to claim property adjacent to their homes that many times they are already maintaining,” she said. “These properties are brought back on the tax rolls in good standing.”

To be eligible, applicants must be current on their taxes and water, sewage and refuse bills on all properties owned in Allegheny County. Properties must be vacant or have an abandoned structure, have at least three years of tax delinquency and be less than a half-acre, among other requirements.

No payment is due at application.

For more information, visit ohara.pa.us, Facebook.com/Etnaborough or alleghenycounty.us/residents/vprp-applications.aspx.