The term “blight reduction” usually suggests demolition. While demolition is a key component of the strategy employed throughout the Cities of Promise, it is not the only tool in the box.

The first line of defense in blight reduction is community awareness and code enforcement, both preventative tools that can impede blight before it becomes a long- term problem.

The city of Saginaw launched a creative partnership tool to effectively combat blight. The Saginaw Code Enforcement Neighborhood Improvement Cooperative (SCENIC) established in June 2008 is a cooperative partnership initially created as a part of the Cathedral District Neighborhood Revitalization plan. The Cathedral District, a neighborhood east of the Saginaw River, has hundreds of blighted and abandoned parcels, but also is home to St. Mary's of Michigan hospital, City Hall and the DOW Chemical events center. The Cathedral District Revitalization plan gives the city an opportunity to leverage local, state and federal resources.

SCENIC is a volunteer driven partnership that includes Saginaw firefighters, police, and city code enforcement staff. Members are issued a white SCENIC shirt with a code enforcement badge that allows citizens to identify them. Saginaw’s city zoning coordinator, John Stemple encourages the crackdown efforts of the SCENIC code enforcement team that patrols the streets and issues bright orange notices warning residents of a violation. The notices are issued for a variety of blight-related offenses such as trash in yards, junked vehicles, falling down fences or broken-down porches. Residents who receive them have from 48 hours to a week to remedy the situation before the city imposes a fine.

The cost to property owners for violations may vary, but the notices alone have been a strong deterrent for homeowners and landlords. According to Stemple, more than 80 percent of violators take care of the notices after the fact. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response to these efforts in the Cathedral District, SCENIC has expanded into a citywide effort. The SCENIC initiative has allowed the city to proactively address blight while creating positive relationships between local government and citizens.