An Attractive Town

By Richard "Tony" Contratto

Making Apple Valley a place that residents and businesses are proud to call home.

On the point of making our Town a more attractive place to residents, business owners, visitors, and prospective movers I have a few issues that I feel need to be addressed:

Major entry points should be attractive and inviting. The streets should not be lined with weeds, dirt, and trash. The use of signage and lighting could be used to enthusiastically announce arrival in the Town.

Highway 18 and other main traffic arteries should be attractive, easily maneuverable for all, and able to handle traffic volumes.

The use of accent lighting, desert landscaping, and other accent points should be used to increase attractiveness throughout the Town and roadway system.

Blight: Foreclosed homes that are sitting empty must be maintained and supervised by the owner/bank to a standard that will not negatively effect the neighborhood's property values, will discourage break-ins and squatting, and maintain the attractiveness of the Town in general. I believe that the Town should more aggressively fight blight (mainly that caused by foreclosed properties) through the code enforcement process. The process should be timely and results oriented. If the standards are not met, the Town would then contract needed services to bring the properties up to standards and bill the owner/bank for the services and/or file an abatement lien.