FutureHeights will host a public forum, Vacant and Abandoned Properties in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, 3031 Monticello Blvd.

As Northeast Ohio climbs out of the housing crisis, many Cuyahoga County communities are still dealing with issues of property abandonment. This panel presentation and discussion aims to help attendees understand the basics about vacant and abandoned properties, help translate applicable laws and policies, and discuss existing options and solutions.

The discussion will focus on answers to the following questions:

1. What is a vacant and abandoned property, from a legal perspective?
2. What are the legal pathways to remedying an abandoned property?
3. What community actors have tools to remedy abandoned or nuisance properties? What are these tools? How do they work?
4. How do community actors know when a property is vacant or abandoned?

Presenters include April Urban, a research associate at Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development; Kermit Lind, clinical professor emeritus at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University (CSU); and Mark Wiseman, University Heights City Council member and principal of Wiseman Consulting.