Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2006
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2006 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: Teresa Lane, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

SEIZED HOUSES COULD BE USED TO RECRUIT TEACHERS

PORT ST. LUCIE - City Councilman Christopher Cooper and St. Lucie 
County School Board member Judi Miller are hoping drug dealers' 
losses will turn to school teachers' riches if city officials succeed 
in seizing up to three dozen homes used as marijuana farms.

The city is in the early stages of trying to seize the first six 
homes, and Miller said she was intrigued when a resident called, 
asking whether the homes could be used to recruit some of the 400 new 
teachers the district will need to accommodate rising enrollment this 
fall. More local news

Cooper passed the question on to City Attorney Roger Orr. Orr's 
assistant, Gabrielle Taylor, said she's not sure what the city's 
long- term plans are for the homes but said any uses would have to 
jibe with state law, which allows a seizing agency to retain the 
illicitly used property or to trade or transfer it to any public or 
nonprofit organization.

Cooper and Miller figure that includes recruiting teachers, who 
increasingly are finding it unaffordable to buy or rent homes in 
burgeoning St. Lucie County, which enjoyed a 37.8 percent rise in 
property value overall last year.

In the cities of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, the value hike was 
even greater.

"I've talked it over with our employees, and they agree it sounds 
like a wonderful idea," Miller said. "This could be a win-win for the 
city and new teachers, and education in general."

Under state law, the city would have to pay off liens or mortgages on 
the property before using it or selling to others.

Cooper said teachers could assume existing mortgages or take out new 
ones to satisfy the liens, allowing them to pay below-market price 
for the homes.

Because many of the homes have been altered without building permits 
to manipulate electrical wiring and interior walls, the teachers also 
might have to assume the cost of making repairs, Cooper said.

A similar proposal to provide workforce housing for teachers on West 
Virginia Drive failed because that would have required the city or 
buyers to move the houses away from the road, which is being widened, 
officials said.

The newer proposal sounds more inviting, Miller agreed.

"Anything like this we can do to recruit teachers, I think we should 
try," Miller said. "Because of our growth, we need teachers and they 
need housing."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman