WARREN — City council Tuesday OK’d a program that allows property owners to acquire city-owned vacant land adjacent to theirs simply by caring for the property and paying a small fee.

Known as mow-to-own, which requires participants to mow the grass and otherwise keep on top of basic maintenance, passed 7 to 2. The program also calls for those enrolled to pay a $190 application fee.

Two of the three members of council who previously expressed reservations about the program voted against its passage, Councilwoman Helen Rucker, D-at Large, and Councilman Ronald White, D-7th Ward.

Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold, D-6th Ward, who thought the legislation would confuse residents because another purchase program already exists for adjacent property owners but without the 6-month mowing required, voted for the new program.

The legislation approved Tuesday does not repeal or otherwise impact the existing program.

“People should know there are two ways people can buy the properties,” Saffold said.

Saffold said the existing program, also operated through the city’s Community Development Department, allows owners of adjacent properties to purchase the vacant city-owned properties for $5 per front footage.

The new program requires those eligible to apply to the Community Development Department from January through March, and, if accepted, pay the fee. From April through September, applicants cut the grass and do general maintenance on the properties.

At the end of the six months, the city determines if the property owners have done enough maintenance to the property to allow them to be turned over.

Councilwoman Helen Rucker suggested that depending on the size of the adjacent properties the city would be losing money because at $5 per front footage, a 50-square-foot lot would cost $250.

“This is adding work for the employees in the Community Development Department at a lower cost,” Rucker said.

To eliminate any chance for confusion, Saffold said there should be a single way to obtain these properties.

White suggested the ward councilman should be informed of the proposed transfer of the properties before they are done.

Councilman John Brown, D-at Large, author of the mow-to-own legislation, said similar programs are working in cities across Ohio and in other states. He said getting the properties in the hands of private property owners could lower the cost of grass cutting done by the city.

rsmith@tribtoday.com