City, residents need to join hands on long-neglected Dunedin neighborhoods

It has been no secret that the Dunedin neighborhoods south of downtown have been in decline for decades. Every now and then, someone in City Hall would mention conditions on the south side and there would be a flurry of discussion. In the 1990s, a group called the Southside Task Force worked to keep the neighborhood's needs before city officials. But often, the city government's attention focused on commercial properties along Douglas Avenue, while the overlooked residential properties continued their long, steady slide downward. The recession and foreclosures have pushed the situation toward a crisis.

The City Commission and city staff have in recent weeks launched a serious, focused effort to address the persistent problems of the south-side neighborhoods. Residents were surveyed by the city to determine how they feel about their community and what they think it needs. City crews checked out the area to collect data and make to-do lists. And on Nov. 16, the City Commission held a workshop in the neighborhood to meet with residents and trade information.

"We care very deeply about this part of town," City Manager Rob DiSpirito said in opening the workshop.

In the past, some residents didn't get that impression. They watched the city devote major resources to Dunedin's outstanding downtown, fix up the stadium for the Toronto Blue Jays, build skate parks and a community center north of downtown, provide reclaimed water to other neighborhoods, and purchase property for future parkland north of downtown.

Meanwhile, streets in the south-side neighborhoods flooded when it rained, sidewalks and curbs were intermittent or missing, the area was dark because of insufficient streetlights, weeds sprouted and trees were overgrown, and residents complained about crime.

The problems of the south side are not entirely the city's doing. The neighborhoods south of downtown are older than some other parts of town, with small starter homes built on undersized lots. There is a substantial amount of rental housing, with too many landlords absent and uncaring. Residents, whether they rent or own, sometimes lack the interest or the financial resources to properly maintain homes and yards. The area is plagued by foreclosures and empty or abandoned homes, and there are widespread city code violations.

In recent years, concerned residents who wanted to launch neighborhood improvement projects or campaigns for city assistance struggled to organize and get support from their neighbors. Without organization and resources, their ability to attract attention from city government was lessened.

At their November workshop, city officials conceded that the area has substantial problems and emphasized their plans to fix them. Some work already has begun. City crews have replaced burned out bulbs in street lights, ordered new street lights and begun trimming overgrown trees so the area will not be so dark or look so overgrown. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is increasing activity in the area to address crime and gang problems. The city has added a code enforcement officer whose efforts are focused south of Main Street, and the city plans to be more aggressive about code violations. The city wants to develop a landlord training program and is compiling a list of absentee landlords so they can be contacted about homes that are not being maintained.

The city plans major stormwater drainage projects in the area to address street flooding problems, though the high cost of those projects and the city's limited resources mean it may be years before all the drainage issues are fixed. DiSpirito, the city manager, said the city is trying to find a way to finance those projects a little earlier.

The city's well-organized, holistic approach to addressing the needs of the south-side neighborhoods should be a comfort to those who live there. Residents will need to do their part, too, by taking care of their own properties, reporting crime or code violations, and organizing their own community-based projects. The south side's future doesn't have to be decline and crashing property values, but it will take an energetic partnership between the city and residents to pull it out of its downward trajectory.