Stiff fines for problem properties in Evesham

EVESHAM, N.J. (WPVI) -- A township in Burlington County is getting tough on property owners whose homes or businesses somehow become a nuisance to neighbors.

A new ordinance is designed to hopefully reduce the number of residential eyesores in Evesham Township, New Jersey.

Jeanna Orsino didn't mince words about a neighboring property, saying, "It's a dump. I think it's a complete dump."

Orsino lives next door to a dilapidated property on E. Main Street. The place is a crumbling, falling-down, boarded-up mess.

"I think it brings down the value of houses around here in the neighborhood," she said.

June Bentzly lives two doors away from the ramshackle house that township inspectors cited back in July.

Bentzly tells us, "And I keep waiting for something to happen. Somebody to renovate it or fix it up or do whatever."

Eyesores like this, often in foreclosure and owned by banks or mortgage companies, number around 100 in Evesham.

Now, under a new ordinance passed this week and welcomed by residents, the Township will more easily be able to identify a problem home's primary lien holder, give them 30 days to clean up the property or face stiff fines of $1,500 a day.

Evesham Township Manager Tom Czerniecki explains, "It will motivate, we believe, the underlying lienholder or the primary lienholder to fix the property and to keep it marketable."

Evesham resident Frank Muoio says, "I think they have to get after them to do something because it's just an eyesore."

Muoio says a property at the corner of Yale and Taylor has been abandoned for 10 years and the only things living there have been raccoons.

Neighbor Rich Duda says, "The place is a fire hazard. Probably needs a 30 yard dumpster to get rid of the trash inside."

Repairs at the house have begun recently and neighbors hope the threat of stiff fines will motivate others to do the same.

Mary Ellen Walls says, "It affects everybody, not only safety wise, but it affects everybody's property values."

Homeowners whose grass may get a little long or have to make some minor repairs don't need to worry about $1,500 a day fines. The idea is to go after the chronic, more serious offenders.