City Says Man Is a Trespasser After Spending $20K to Clean Up Ugly Lot — Is It Fair?

A Philadelphia developer and business owner, who says he has been fined in the past for various indiscretions pertaining to a vacant lot that he doesn’t even own, is now being labeled a trespasser by the city because he used his own money and resources to clean up the city’s eyesore.

The man says he had nearly 40 tons of debris from the lot hauled off and spent nearly $20,000 to transform the downtrodden area into a nice garden for the community. However, a representative for the city’s Office of Housing and Community Developments says that he did not have authorized permission to alter the property, therefore making him a trespasser and a liability.

In August, though, the man says he went to the city before taking matters into his own hands, filing a complaint with the Redevelopment Authority and even extending an offer to clean it up. But the city did not want his help, so he took it upon himself to clean it up anyway.

Now the city is threatening legal action, advising the man to return the property back to the condition in which he found it or face the consequences. At this time, no formal citation has been issued against the developer.

[Consumerist]