Gas up the lawn mowers, Akron, the city’s Mow to Own program is giving residents the opportunity to own vacant land — which can be as big as 4,500 square feet — if they maintain it by mowing grass, raking leaves and other upkeep for six months. We caught up with John Valle, Akron’s director of neighborhood assistance, to break down the program, which could save the city’s taxpayers $100,000 a year in landscaping costs.
Q: Aside from saving the city money, how else will Akron benefit?
A: The key is we’re just making our neighborhoods look much more attractive, more aesthetically pleasing, and we’ve got confidence that these neighbors are going to make that vacant property look as nice as theirs. It’s going to build pride in neighborhoods.
Q: How do you think people will use the lots once they own them?
A: I think most of them will use it for green space, possibly gardens. You can put up fencing. You possibly could build a garage on it, if you got approval from the city. But we’re thinking they’re going to landscape it, maybe put in some benches. You can’t use it for a parking lot. You can’t store a boat or cars or things like that.
Q: Round one of Mow to Own included 250 plots, will Akron keep the program going?
A: We’re hoping that next spring we select another 250 parcels. We’re going to be probably a little over 1,000 [mow-able vacant] parcels at the end of this year, and we can get that thing down to 850 in 2021. Maybe around 720 in 2022. It’s going to make things more manageable for the city of Akron to maintain these parcels.
Inside Akron's Mow To Own Program
The city's new program gives residents ownership of vacant lots in exchange for a six-month dedication to upkeep.
