ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Newly appointed Orange County commissioner John Martinez is pushing a plan to get rid of abandoned buildings in his district, but he's finding out there's a lot of red tape.
Martinez watched as buildings were abandoned all over town.
"It's only when I came into office a few months ago that I started to take a different viewpoint," Martinez said.
Martinez has been compiling a list of properties in east Orange County that his office has received complaints about.
On Friday, he showed us one of the worst – a building off east Colonial that used to be an old auto dealership. Now it's a blight on the community, and Martinez says it's dangerous.
"This type of property can be a haven for drugs, gang meetings, even prostitution," Martinez said.
Akin David lives near one of the other properties on the list -- an abandoned apartment building off Old Cheney Highway.
"We want to see people live there -- families, people that are working, so that the neighborhood can remain safe," David said.
Martinez said he wants to help. But he quickly learned from other commissioners that's no easy task.
"These building get out there and they're very challenging to get taken down," Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer said.
Brummer found the same problem in his district when he was first elected. It took him five years to get one abandoned and run down building demolished.
"Surprising and disappointing," Brummer said.
Private property rights make it difficult for government to take control, even when conditions get bad.
Martinez said he wants to champion a wide-ranging ordinance to fight the problem.
One option he's considering would add fines to owners' property taxes when an abandoned building becomes a nuisance.
Martinez said he'll be meeting with county staff over the next couple of weeks.
WFTV
