Trashy landscapes in Knoxville

Hundreds of properties in Knoxville sit blighted, vacant of abandoned, often for years at a time, frustrating neighbors and city inspectors alike. City officials say they use a number of tools to combat the problem. This News Sentinel investigation looks at that problem and also has comments from elected and community leaders on what should be done about the blight problem.

• City's 'worst' landlord wages legal war Published 3/16/2011 at 12:00 a.m. 44 comments

  Bahman Kasraei, whom the city codes manager considers "the worst in the city" when it comes to landlords, has filed 99 tenant-landlord lawsuits in Knox County General Sessions Court since 2000, according to court officials.

• Knoxville Judge John R. Rosson Jr. can now fine owners of dirty lots $50 per day Published 1/5/2011 at 12:00 a.m. 20 comments

  Citing a 2006 Tennessee Court of Appeals ruling, Knoxville city officials believe they have newfound leverage against owners of dirty lots.

• Officials push to beef up penalties for blighted properties Published 12/5/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 10 comments

  Knoxville city officials plan this month to propose significant ordinance changes meant to make it easier for codes enforcers to pursue owners of blighted and vacant properties.

• Codes citation hits Knoxville City Councilman Joe Bailey's property Published 12/1/2010 at 11:51 p.m. 37 comments

  Knoxville City Councilman Joe Bailey owns a house that has been condemned by the city and has been cited for a structural violation as well as multiple codes problems, city records show.

• Finding answers to blighted property problems Published 11/28/2010 at 11:17 p.m. 13 comments

  Neighborhood advocates and Knoxville City Council members agree that vacant, abandoned and blighted properties bring down a neighborhood and can be a catalyst for crime, especially drugs and prostitution.

• Buyer beware: Unpleasant surprises can await delinquent property tax sale purchases Published 11/28/2010 at 9:42 p.m. 9 comments

  Hoping to get a cheap deal on a Knoxville house for his family, Gagan Rajput went to a city delinquent property tax sale in December 2008.

• Back in business: Home that once housed beauty salon returned to its glory Published 11/28/2010 at 9:14 p.m. 0 comments

  When Elizabeth Upchurch first checked out the house at 1122 Luttrell Ave. in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood, 'it looked pretty dismal,' she recalls.

• Trashy landscapes: How blight mars Knoxville neighborhoods Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 32 comments

  Thousands of overgrown lots, vacant buildings and junked-up yards blight Knoxville neighborhoods, giving vermin a place to thrive and criminals a place to hide. Empty buildings are a magnet for the homeless, as well as drug and prostitution activity.

• Chronic offender: Knoxville officials frustrated by Westview resident with dirty lot Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 3 comments

  Norman Scott McLean stood with his hands before his face as if in prayer, waiting for Knoxville City Judge John Rosson Jr.'s decision.

• Parkridge neighborhood's residents haven't given up on neglected homes Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 2 comments

  The Parkridge community is a neighborhood of contrasts. The streets are lined with one-story rentals, renovated Victorians, Craftsman-style homes and George Barber-designed homes. Knoxville architect Barber developed Queen Anne-style homes and also lived in Parkridge.

• Data shows owner of 13 rental sites among top code offenders Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 7 comments

  Bahman Kasraei and the Knoxville Neighborhood Codes Enforcement Department know each other well. "I wouldn't hesitate to call him a slumlord," said Robert "Tiny" Moyers, manager of Codes Enforcement. Kasraei has a name for the Codes Enforcement inspectors as well.

• About 75 property owners cited by city in past two years Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 0 comments

  The bulldozer approached the rundown home at 2861 Linden Ave. slowly, but it took only minutes to reduce the East Knoxville home to a pile of rubble.

• Delays keep city from possessing, cleaning up blighted properties Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 0 comments

  East Knoxville developer Aaron Farmer has been singled out for a dubious honor: He owns one of the properties on a list the city keeps of the 10 that pose the biggest headaches.

• Problems at 611 Gill Ave. Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 1 comment

  A property in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood is also one of the 10 most problematic on the city list.

• Defining vacant, abandoned and blighted properties Published 11/28/2010 at 12:00 a.m. 0 comments

  Defining the terms: vacant, abandoned and blighted properties

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