JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a unit dedicated to the goal of cleaning up the city and holding property owners accountable who aren’t keeping their properties in good shape.
The 'Blight Abatement Unit' will help monitor blight in the form of abandoned buildings, parking lots littered with trash and other issues. Officials with JSO say the unit was created after the department received hundreds of complaints regarding areas around the city that are in need of attention.
People like Kevin Wanton want to see the city cleaned up. When he drives down Moncrief Road, he sees drainage ditches filled with trash, abandoned buildings and overgrown vegetation.
“The trash now is getting outrages because now it seems like people coming down Moncrief, they don’t respect Moncrief so they just throw it out the window," said Kevin Wanton, the owner of Wilson Shoe Shop.
He owns a shop on the Northside and believes the problem of blight, which is defined as a condition that spoils or causes damage, hurts business.
“It effects the whole neighborhood, the whole environment of the neighborhood, everybody around us," Wanton said. "So I just pick up any trash that’s around because I know it’s eventually going to come back, and it’s going to make it look better over here. I have people that come from all over that come here, and I can’t have trash everywhere when they come here."
In 2022, JSO received 297 complaints for blight properties. This includes, abandoned buildings, vacant lots, unauthorized encampments, trespassing on public property, illegal dumping, trash on public property and more.
Officials say 250 of those were considered to be blight issues and were successfully addressed.
JSO’s Blight Abatement Unit will now be in charge of inspecting, mapping and developing plans for improvement for properties of blight.
Police Lieutenant Robert Lestrange with JSO's Blight Abatement Unit says the program will maintain the beauty of the city and promote the health of the community.
Wanton believes the new program will provide accountability.
“We just waiting for it to start so we can see it better around here and make the neighborhood great again," Wanton said.
Officers with the Unit will complete weekly checks until the problem is resolved.
Residents with who want to submit a complaint regarding a blight issue can call 904-630-2160 or email JSOBlight@jaxsheriff.org.