West Haven trying to clean up blighted properties, crack down on squatters

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — West Haven is trying to cut down on the number of boarded-up buildings, shattered windows and litter across the city.

“It can be anything from trash in the street to a business that is unkept, that has tinted windows and are putting items on the sidewalk that are unregulated,” Mayor Dorinda Borer said.

The city’s anti-blight taskforce hopes to help. It’s made up of the city’s fire, police, building, zoning and legal departments. Laurie Lopez, who leads the group, said each property inspection will be tailored to the need.

“When it’s a blighted property or a health and safety issue, or there is trash and debris, sometimes we have our crews from public works if we can’t get a landlord to remove the trash,” Lopez said.

One building on the list is in the 300 block of Campbell Avenue. Trash and debris makes the area an eyesore, but Borer said it’s also a quality-of-life issue.

She said that one of the city’s biggest issues is absentee landlords.

“Sometimes it’s a two-family home, someone that owns a house, and they had a family that moved out and left everything behind, or left everything at the curb,” Borer said. “So, we work with them to try to bring them into compliance.”

The city is also trying to get rid of squatters.

“We are no longer going to allow landlords to hide behind an LLC and not be reachable in critical situations,” Borer said. “This only helps us with the blight situation, but it’s critical to our fire and police departments, as well.”

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