1. What Do You Consider to Be Blight? (Check All That Apply.) ___ Safety, Fire And/Or Health Hazards ___ Visual Appeal/At
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4. Do you feel that an Anti-Blight Bylaw should be 1. What do you consider to be blight? 6. What are the most significant causes of blight? limited to any of the following locations? (Check all that apply.) (Check all that apply.) (Check 1 to 3 items below.) ___ Safety, fire and/or health hazards ___ Primary buildings (residential, public, & commercial) ___ Insufficient current building codes, health codes ___ Visual appeal/attractiveness ___ Secondary buildings (sheds, garages, etc.) and zoning bylaws ___ Abandoned buildings ___ Front yards ___ Difficulty in enforcing existing building codes, ___ None of the above ___ Back/side yards if visible from the street health codes and zoning bylaws ___ Don’t know ___ Back/side yards if visible by an abutter ___ Declining home ownership and/or growing ___ Decline to answer ___ Do not see a need for an Anti-Blight Bylaw number of rental properties ___ Other _______________________________ ___ Decline to answer ___ Abandoned/foreclosed property ___ Other ________________________________________ ___ None of the above ___ Decline to answer 2. What do you feel should be the goals or the 5. To what degree do the following conditions contribute ___ Other __________________________________ purpose of an Anti-Blight Bylaw? to blight? (1 = NO IMPACT, 5 = VERY HIGH (Check all that apply.) IMPACT, D/K = Don’t Know.) 7. What are the most significant reasons for ___ To raise property values 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Bikes blight? (Check 1 to 3 items below.) ___ To improve visual appearance 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Broken windows ___ Out of town/out of state investment property Building materials visible from street & owners ___ To eliminate safety, fire & health hazards 1 2 3 4 5 D/K ___ To promote economic development - attract abutters ___ Property owners who are financially limited new businesses, new homes 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Car parts visible from street & abutters ___ Property owners who are physically limited ___ Do not see a need for an Anti-Blight Bylaw 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Cracked asphalt ___ Property owners who are time constrained ___ Decline to answer Landscaping materials visible from street & ___ Property owners who are ambivalent 1 2 3 4 5 D/K ___ Other _______________________________ abutters ___ Property owners who have different priorities 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Neglected fencing ___ None of the above 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Over-full garbage cans or dumpsters ___ Decline to answer 3. Which of the following properties do you 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Overgrown, neglected lawn & vegetation ___ Other __________________________________ feel an Anti-Blight Bylaw should focus on? 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Peeling paint (Check all that apply.) 8. What would be some of the most effective ways 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Roof in disrepair ___ Foreclosed, empty, or abandoned buildings to address blight? (Check 1 to 3 items below.) 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Rusted items ___ Single family residences and condominiums ___ Strengthening and enforcing existing building ___ Business/commercial properties 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Tarps codes, health codes, and zoning bylaws ___ Town, State, and Federal properties 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Tools visible from street & abutters ___ Monitoring vacant and foreclosed properties ___ Multi-family residences & investment 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Toys ___ Homeowner financial assistance and incentives properties 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Uncontained garbage & disposable trash ___ Create a new Anti-Blight Bylaw ___ Land, fields, wooded lots Yard equipment (lawn mowers, snow ___ Financial penalties 1 2 3 4 5 D/K ___ Do not see a need for an Anti-Blight Bylaw blowers, etc.) ___ None of the above ___ Decline to answer 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Old yard sale signs ___ Decline to answer ___ Other ________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 D/K Holiday decorations out of season ___ Other __________________________________ Other ____________________________________________ 11. In your opinion, how many pieces of property do you 9. If an Anti-Blight Bylaw were to be Does Hudson have a implemented, what do you feel are some of consider to be “blighted” in Hudson? (Check one.) “BLIGHT” problem? the potential concerns to enforcing an ___ Zero “blighted” properties ♦ Anti-Blight Bylaw? (Check all that apply.) ___ 1 - 5 pieces of property The Blight Bylaw Committee ___ Difficulty in defining “blight” (i.e. very ___ 6 - 10 pieces of property wants your opinion! subjective) ___ 11 - 25 pieces of property ___ Difficulty in enforcing (i.e. quantifying, ___ 26 - 50 pieces of property • What is blight? calculating and measuring) ___ 51 - 100 pieces of property • What causes blight? ___ Unfairly targeting disabled and elderly ___ Over 100 pieces of property • How does blight impact the Town of residents ___ Don’t know Hudson? ___ Unfairly targeting low income and fixed ___ Decline to answer • How can we curb blight? income residents • Does Hudson need or want an Anti-Blight 12. In your opinion, how many pieces of property does it ___ Infringement on property owner’s rights Bylaw? take for blight to be a Town-wide problem? ___ Selective enforcement (i.e. is it only reported The Hudson Board of Selectmen has (Check one.) complaints or all properties in violation?) appointed a 12 member Blight Bylaw ___ 1 - 10 pieces of property Committee. The purpose of this committee is ___ Vindictive retaliation complaints ___ 11 - 25 pieces of property to explore and determine if Hudson residents (i.e. disgruntled neighbors, ex-spouses, fired feel that there is a need for an Anti-Blight ___ 26 - 50 pieces of property employees may make a complaint) Bylaw in the Town of Hudson, and if there is ___ 51-100 pieces of property ___ No hindrances a need – to determine what areas should be ___ Over 100 pieces of property addressed. In order to complete our task, we ___ Do not see a need for an Anti-Bight Bylaw ___ Don’t know need to hear from you. We are representing ___ Decline to answer the residents, so it is important for you to let ___ Decline to answer ___ Other _______________________________ us know how you feel and what you want for the Town of Hudson. We need your 13. Do you feel Hudson has a blight problem? opinion. 10. Who should be allowed to make a blight ___ Yes Please take a few minutes to complete our complaint? (Check all that apply.) survey. All surveys will be confidential and ___ No anonymous. No personal information or ___ Abutting property owner ___ Unsure email addresses will be collected. ___ Abutting resident/renter ___ Decline to answer ___ Property owner within 300 feet ___ Resident/renter within 300 feet COMMENTS: The survey is also available ONLINE: ___ Any Hudson resident www.surveymonkey.com/s/HudsonBlight ___ Anyone ___ Hudson Public/Safety Officials ___ No one should be allowed to make a Please complete & return all complaint about someone else’s property surveys by March 2, 2014. ___ Decline to answer ♦ ___ Other _______________________________ Town Clerk, 78 Main St., Hudson, MA 01749 .