Report: "Anti-Blight" Plan Nixed

The Lexington County Council on Tuesday killed a proposal that would have required property owners to neaten up their yards and better maintain their buildings, The State reported.

The controversial plan was defeated by a 7-1 vote. Its sponsor, Council member Brad Matthews, told the paper, "it was seen as going too far."

Though such aesthetic requirements are common in many of the county's municipalities to help prevent blight, "…the package became a target of conservative groups as burdensome and unnecessary in coping with pockets of rundown residences, primarily in suburban areas," the paper reported.

"It’s not worth the fight," Council chairman Bill Banning told the paper.