TAMPA — Many Hillsborough County neighborhoods continue to be victimized by illegal dumping, overgrown lots and dilapidated houses.
When conditions like these persist, experts say, crime proliferates and a general sense of hopelessness overcomes a community.
Hillsborough’s Code Enforcement Department is launching new initiatives aimed at attacking blighted conditions quickly before they worsen. Assistant County Administrator Dexter Barge said code enforcement will work with other county departments to identify conditions that pose dangers to public health and safety. Then a newly formed Rapid Response Team will secure and clean up the property within days.