Code program a good start

[Proactive Volunteer]

Code program a good start

Fri March 18, 2005

By Susan Johnston

Congratulations to Mayor Mick Cornett and the Oklahoma City Council for having the vision to dedicate $115,000 to launch the new Proactive Code Enforcement pilot program in 29 neighborhoods in Oklahoma City. This emphasis on code enforcement will be in regard to junk and debris, high grass and weeds, inoperative vehicles, abandoned houses and exterior property maintenance.
This is a good beginning to help neighborhoods work to improve property maintenance enforcement issues. However, we would like to see the city council go one step further and establish a citizens' task force to study how property maintenance and community appearance ordinances are enforced and to make recommendations for improvements.

Currently, the Oklahoma City neighborhood services, zoning, planning and public works departments, the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and the police and fire departments enforce property maintenance ordinances with complaints filed through the Public Information Department's Action Center.

Review of the current structures would help pinpoint areas in which additional training and education of code enforcement officers would improve the process. In February 2000, members of the Mayor's Task Force on Neighborhood Revitalization submitted their findings on ways to improve neighborhood revitalization efforts. Here is an excerpt from the report on code enforcement:

"We believe that there is a growing consensus that physical attractiveness of an area directly affects property values and that well maintained areas tend to be safer areas. Viewed in this light, efforts to uphold the community standards inherent in the maintenance code are an important complement to the other components of neighborhood revitalization."

The task force suggested that the city council and staff should acknowledge the importance of effective code enforcement to improving real estate values, neighborhood appearance and safety. Effective code enforcement, the task force said, should be proactive, consistent and vigorous.

"The maintenance code is enforced selectively and often ineffectively," the task force found. "The issues and problems in enforcement tend to relate to delays, consistency of interpretation and the application of good judgment in achieving the objectives of the particular code."

To strengthen the appearance of neighborhoods, we ask Mayor Cornett and the city council to implement the Mayor's Task Force on Neighborhood Revitalization recommendations and, through a citizens' task force, to review and report on the property maintenance and community appearance ordinances and the enforcement process. We ask them to vigorously implement changes based upon the committees' findings and recommendations.

Adequate staffing and training in the codes, employees and citizens alike, and the community objectives they serve need to be reviewed and revised.

Johnston chairs Oklahoma City Beautiful's Advocacy and Awareness Committee.

[Patrick]

Nice article Proactive! I'm sure the mayor is reading!

[TheHill]

Good evening, I am surprised only one response and 25 viewing to Pro-active's article. What does that say... A new task force for neighborhood revitalization should be adopted. Then compare the findings to the 2000 Mayor's report, would be informative.
For those that are involved with neighborhood groups, in the inner core are aware how problematic the process and results can be. How aggressive you have to ge on cetain violations. My neighborhood is one of the 29 chosen; neighborhood services generates a quarterly report and final report some time in October of their findings. It is time to look at this issues, address the neighborhood disconnect experience and educate the public more effectively.

[Midtowner]

It is my hope that they can apply this law evenly. Minority neighborhoods need to be as effected as Heritage Hills.

That would be my primary concern about the enforcement here.