Bristol Township Council approved resolutions declaring three residential properties blighted last week.
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The latest designation brings the township’s active blight list down to 21 properties from an original 204 identified in 2015.
The three properties – 848 Harrison Street, 84 Ice Pond Road, and 68 Indian Red Road – were presented Beau Fleming, who works in the building and planning department.
The Harrison Street property became a focus after the township received complaints about an individual living there without utilities. Fleming said the resident had cut all electrical wires in the house, believing people were listening to him.
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“We ended up obtaining a search warrant. We served it with our local police department and we ended up boarding up the house,”
Fleming told council members. “The home is uninhabitable. The individual has not made any attempts to rectify the issues at the home.”
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The property carries approximately $5,400 in liens and has unpaid taxes for 2023 and 2024, Fleming said.
The Ice Pond Road property suffered fire damage nearly two years ago.
Fleming said he initially contacted the owner several months ago, and she claimed to have plans for repairs.
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“Since that time frame, I’ve had no contact. I have talked to an engineer that she hired and an actual builder, but both of them keep pushing this off,” Fleming said. “It’s been about five months, and they just keep giving me the runaround.”
While the property remains current on taxes, Fleming confirmed the home is uninhabitable due to fire damage.
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The township’s fire marshal reported an unsafe electrical panel at the home on Indian Red Road.
The fire marshal found dangerous conditions in the home.
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“We went out there, made contact, saw that the panel was very rigged up, as you will see in the next slide, with a shoe rack and a bungee cord,” Fleming explained. “We served a search warrant with our police department and boarded up the home.”
The property owner is currently incarcerated, and Fleming has been in contact with the owner’s father regarding the situation.
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The blight program has been heralded as a success by the township and Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County since its inception in 2015.
Fleming said that of the 21 properties remaining on the blight list, approximately seven to nine are currently in motion with various stages of remediation or legal proceedings.
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