Lucas Carpenter, Sr., thought he was doing Toledo a favor. 

For five years he watched city workers attempt, and fail, to eliminate blight at two non-buildable vacant lots at Yondota Street and Navarre Avenue in East Toledo. Mr. Carpenter, who owns and maintains nine properties throughout Toledo, decided to restore the land himself.

So he was stunned when the Department of Economic Development rejected his application to purchase the two 30-foot-wide lots, explaining the city’s Land Bank does not sell non-adjacent property to homeowners. 

“[This] is a beautiful part of the East Side, and I’m trying to keep it that way,” Mr. Carpenter said. “It’s really disappointing that I sit on my porch at the corner, and I look at this everyday. I can’t escape the blight.”

Bill Burkett, the development department’s commissioner, outlined three requisites for the sort of land purchase Mr. Carpenter desires: the property adjoins land owned by the buyer, it is no more than 40 feet wide and thus non-buildable, and the purchaser is current with taxes.

If those conditions are not met, city council must confirm an “acceptable use” of land to approve the sale, which includes creating a “green space, recreation [area], a place for the kids to play, [and] a garden.”

A farmer since childhood and worker for A+ Building Maintenance, Mr. Carpenter has bought and remodeled multiple properties throughout the six years he’s lived on Yondota. After the city demolished a neighbor’s vacant house because of safety concerns, Mr. Carpenter said he landscaped the rodent-infested lot and converted it into a play area for neighborhood children.

“I know what I’m signing up for,” he said. “These are things I enjoy doing.”

City Councilman Peter Ujvagi, whose 3rd District includes East Toledo, said he appreciates Mr. Carpenter’s efforts to beautify his community, but he stressed the non-adjacent rule is meant to ensure owners maintain the land they buy, which in theory is more likely if it has direct value to their homes.

Mr. Burkett stressed the city is eager to transfer property into the hands of private owners, and is “taking a proactive approach” by preparing an interactive online map that will enable Toledo residents to track down available vacant lots. 

Key to Mr. Carpenter’s frustrations is the property’s land-locked status. The only homeowner eligible by regulation to buy the lots from the Toledo Land Bank doesn’t appear to be interested.

Sy Kreas, a Block Watch leader living on North Michigan Street, has encountered a similar problem. Out-of-state owners of two vacant lots across his street owe Toledo thousands of dollars in back taxes. The Land Bank can sell the properties, but the city’s non-adjacent rule has kept Mr. Kreas from buying them.

The rule hasn’t kept Mr. Kreas from keeping the grass mowed for more than a decade. Mr. Kreas said he has done similar maintenance at more than 40 vacant lots throughout the area, of which he owns only five. 

“I don't care who owns it,” he said. “This is my neighborhood.”

City Council President Steven Steel advocated for a “broader” interpretation of city regulations that would allow “more responsible homeowners” to acquire property that they can use in “productive ways.” 

“Across the street is adjacent as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

Mr. Kreas’ neighbor and “right-hand man,” Louis Morales, 53, is buying two lots across the street from the city’s Division of Real Estate, which does not enforce a non-adjacent rule. Mr. Morales said he plans to create a “green space” for children.

The property Mr. Carpenter longs to buy looks better these days than it usually does. He was surprised to see city workers recently stop by and mow the overgrown grass. Still, he’s waiting to hear news on his resubmitted application to purchase the land. 

Mr. Ujvagi said he’s spoken with city real estate officials about Mr. Carpenter’s resubmitted application but doesn’t know when city administrators and council members will act on the proposal. 

Until then Mr. Carpenter intends to pursue the property — and others like it — until he has a good view from his porch.

“I’m not going anywhere, I have too much invested,” Mr. Carpenter said. “And I love the East Side. So I have to fight this out. I’m not only helping myself, I’m helping everyone.”

First Published September 5, 2017, 2:16 a.m.