ATLANTA -- A group of neighborhoods in southwest Atlanta is hoping drone pictures depicting blight will spur action from city officials.
The group shot video and pictures showing damage in several homes.
Alan Holmes, who lives in the Oakland City neighborhood in southwest Atlanta, said that people see blight so often, they can become immune to the problem. He and the others hope the drone footage will show the disrepair from a different perspective.
“People are never able to see the footage from that angle, from that level,” said Holmes. “I think a lot of people who walk past the abandoned houses and have lived in the neighborhood 15, 20 years almost get used to seeing it.”
PHOTOS: Drone blight pictures
Holmes is part of a very active group of southwest Atlanta neighbors who have fought for years to rid their area of blight. Eleven neighborhoods have come together with a wish list for the city.
The group is hoping for more funding in the city's 2017 budget to fight blight. They want $7 million allotted in the budget to demolish homes. They're also asking for 20 new code enforcement researchers to help with the backlog. They also want funds to buy 200 trash cans to place in neighborhoods with litter problems.
"There's the criminal aspect of it because you have a lot of gangs that stash drugs in abandoned houses. You have dead bodies that have been found in abandoned houses. You have people who have been assaulted and raped in abandoned houses,"Holmes said.
They also hope the city will hire 15 new resource officers.
According to a recent count from neighbors in Oakland City, nearly 20 percent of all homes in the area are abandoned.
Councilwoman Mary Norwood is co-chair of the city's code enforcement committee.
"I love the fact that these neighborhoods have come to the council, because we need to have that larger conversation right now, have a plan of action," Norwood said.
She says it's not just about more resources, but a new approach that would allow the city to take properties where no owner can be found.
“To go after those abandoned, burned out, no one is accountable, there is no entity to turn to -- and we need to take those properties,” said Norwood.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's office issued a statement on Friday saying, "“We are investing more in fighting blight than any administration in 30 years. We will consider the request for additional funding.”
