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Residents urge more patrols, maintenance and quicker builds as vacant lots attract crime
Summary
Residents testified about loitering, suspected drug activity and safety concerns on vacant city lots; they asked the commission for traffic calming, more consistent patrols, and deterrents such as lighting and fencing.
Multiple residents told the commission that vacant city lots in Midtown and Zone 3 have become gathering places for loitering and suspected illegal activity and asked for more consistent enforcement and remediation.
Simon Lumsden, a Cedar Street resident introduced by the clerk, said repeated non-emergency calls have not always led to sustained enforcement and asked the city to install traffic calming, increase police and code-enforcement patrols, and improve fencing and lighting on vacant lots. "We need confidence that our concerns are being addressed consistently," Lumsden said. Resident John Nicholson and others urged the commission to ensure donated lots are developed quickly so that communities stabilize.
Commissioners acknowledged the concerns and tied them to the lot-donation discussion: Commissioner May said converting lots to housing could change pedestrian patterns and reduce criminal activity, while staff described operational steps (posting no-trespass signs, retaining title until permits) that could help enforcement while lots remain under city ownership.
