QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Quincy City Commission approved a set of changes to the way it handles dangerous and abandoned houses Thursday night.
This, after three people were killed inside a burning abandoned home, more than two weeks ago.
The city reduced the time it takes to get rid of an abandoned building from about 90 days to 45 days. That's effective immediately.
The same goes for the time it takes for a violation notice to turn into a lien recording and start the process of foreclosure, from 180 days to 120 days.
We talked to some residents, who said it's about time the city did something about an issue that affects everyone.
"If the city would work close with the community, a lot of these abandoned houses wouldn't be an issue, because a lot of residents would buy them and renovate them and bring them up to code if the city would work with them," said Samuel Hawkins, a Quincy resident. "But they're so stringent in trying to make a dollar for the city, they won't relax some of the codes and requirements to help these people, you know, restore the community."
A city commissioner told us over the phone on Thursday that before the city starts enforcing some of these policies, officials will give residents some sort of education about what's going on.
They're still working on what that looks like.
It could be something mailed to residents or a message on the city website, but either way, residents will get a heads up to make sure they know the new rules.
The commission will continue this conversation at its next meeting in two weeks.
