BERLIN – In its battle to revitalize the city’s housing stock, Berlin has taken an existing state statute and turned it into a potent weapon. Using RSA 155-B, the city has forced the demolition of 45 blighted buildings since 2001. 155-B allows a community to order the owner of any building that presents a fire, safety, or public health hazard to correct the hazardous condition or raze the building.
Fire Chief Randall Trull said Berlin has been very aggressive in using RSA 155-B to clean up some of the city’s most damaged and dilapidated buildings. No other community in the state has used the statute as extensively as Berlin has.
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