Dozens of abandoned, blighted properties littered with trash and dilapidated vehicles around Salem could qualify for a second chance thanks to a new city program that forgives liens and unpaid penalties in exchange for investments in cleanup and redevelopment.

The program, which began Nov. 10, is intended to revitalize properties that have become an eyesore or drain on city resources, Compliance Services Manager and Health Officer Mitch Nickolds told Salem Reporter. 

Code violations, such as abandoned vehicles parked outside, boarded up windows, noxious vegetation, or garbage and junk, must be mitigated by the program’s deadline on June 30, 2026. Program participants have the choice to either redevelop the property or leave it vacant, Nickolds said. 

Nickolds said that civil penalties are imposed only after a property owner fails to comply with an order from a city code official or health officer. If the penalties remain unpaid for a period of time, it becomes a lien on the property and accrues interest. 

“In a lot of these properties we see a whole bunch of violations of different types. There will be accumulated debris and junk, there will be furniture out in the yard, there will be dilapidated inoperable vehicles, there will be broken windows, boarded up windows, partially destroyed structures,” Nickolds said.  

One property that is already in the review process for the program, on Northeast Watson Avenue, was severely damaged by fire years ago and sits burnt out and abandoned, Nickolds said.

The former owner of that property couldn’t afford to rebuild or tear the structure down. The property has since accrued roughly $130,000 in penalties, an immense financial burden for the owner and impediment to redevelopment, Nickolds said. 

Years after the fire, a new buyer came along and learned about those penalties only after purchasing the property. Nickolds said the new owners have applied for the program and have floated the idea of turning the property into duplexes. 

“This property has been fallow for years and a drag on the community resources. Now it is going to become redeveloped, hopefully with affordable housing that will house four more families. We need this type of turnaround,” Nickolds said. “The payback to the community comes in the form of the reinvestment in that property and the revitalization of that property to turn it into a revenue generator from a tax basis, but also from our utilities.”

The program is primarily for property owners who are unable to maintain or renovate the property or pay their accrued fees, but is also for property owners who would be more willing and able to fix up a property if the liens and penalties were forgiven, Nickolds said. 

“What makes Salem stand out more than anything is the fact that we didn’t focus on trying to recover money that hasn’t been recovered yet. We made the focus of the program the remediation of the property, which is what the community needs so badly,” Nickolds said. 

Salem has 321 liens valued at $810,104, and there are 72 properties with liens eligible for forgiveness, according to a city news release announcing the program. 

Nickolds said some properties fall into disrepair when an owner is unable to afford renovations after a death or an illness in the family. Other owners are simply struggling to keep up in today’s economy, he said. 

He said the situation in Salem has gotten worse in the past five to 10 years and forgiving the liens makes more sense than trying to collect.

“What has happened over the past few years is people have been unable to afford to comply with the requirements of the code, especially when it comes to reconditioning severely blighted properties and derelict structures. And so they have just remained unaddressed, while the liens, the civil penalties, accrued against them month after month after month,” Nickolds said. “When that happens it creates a financial impediment to development or redevelopment of the property for both property owner and any potential purchaser.” 

Nickolds said a number of speculators approached the city about the blighted properties and asked the city if there was anything they could do to relieve the loans to make the properties a sound investment and more financially feasible to redevelop. 

“In this particular case you are talking about a lot of money that is owed to the city that they are willing to forgive for the long-end game,” Nickolds said. “Which restores the property, remediates it, restores the value to the community, and makes the community a safer place, and adds more housing.”

Property owners interested in applying for the program or learning more can find information online here, or by calling 503-588-6421. 

Those who are interested can also email Nickolds at [email protected].

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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