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By DJ Becker

A home for sale sits abandoned with overgrown weeds and a dead lawn south of town.

Photo by: For The Madera Tribune

A new ordinance requiring the restoration of utilities and the maintenance of abandoned or foreclosed homes in the City of Madera has been proposed before city council and is scheduled to go into effect in two weeks.

Madera has at least 325 homes sitting empty and in various stages of foreclosure according to code enforcement estimates. More foreclosures may be on the way, as home owners struggle with rising energy prices or resetting mortgage rates.

Unable to make mortgage payments, some residents move away and properties rapidly decline. Utility bills go unpaid and power and water are eventually shut off for non payment.

Cities nationwide are struggling to deal with the result of the recent wave of foreclosures - a new and widespread form of residential blight - brown lawns, dead landscapes, and green, algae-filled swimming pools. Weeds or trash litter back yards, furthering the appearance of decline in already struggling neighborhoods.

Note: The above article has been shortened from its published form in The Madera Tribune newspaper. For information about an online subscription, view http://maderatribuneredline.com/online-subscriptions/