Snyder's Side: Article 6
NOTE: This is a reprint of an article I had posted
on The Brig Chaser site years ago. While some parts of it are dated,
I still feel that it says what I believe -- especially with the recent economic
downturn we're experiencing.
Back To Basics for Code Enforcement
Some of what I'm going to write here isn't going to sit well with folk at
the UG, but I've witnessed enough of this to feel like something needs to
be said: code enforcement needs reining in a bit. Horror stories
abound regarding the little old lady who has received citations because her
house needed paint or mowing and she's unable to attend to it herself, the
man who was told gravel was an "acceptable improved surface" only to be drug
into court because of cars parked on the same gravel, even someone who was
given notice to paint their house in January! Yet there are places
all over town with far worse conditions than this that never get addressed.
To be completely fair, I'm sure that there are some good people in the
department, and some of the issues I list below may have been addressed already
or simply not the case. If I receive any correspondence regarding this
page I will update it immediately and make sure people get credit where it's
due. Recently I had to deal with a plumbing inspector (18 feet of sewer
line had to be replaced thanks to some pesky tree roots) and the experience
was absolutely great. Soon I'll need to get permits on the house I
want to renovate, and as I deal with the necessary paperwork I'll report
my experiences on that as well.
Anyone who's been breathing lately knows that times are tight, really tight
for some out there. Governments are looking high and low, trying to
find ways to keep the lid on costs. However, when it comes to Joe Taxpayer,
they seem to think the money tap's running full blast. A Kansas City
Kansan article posed the question: it would be cheaper to buy a used
lawnmower than pay the fine for not cutting your grass. Well, what
do you do when your last tax bill increase took the money you planned to
purchase the lawnmower with in the first place? I know, this is an
extreme case and I hope it doesn't come to that for anyone, but people could
use some leeway with the folks at Code Enforcement. Here's some ideas:
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Back To Basics: I see all the time the notices in the paper -- "open",
"abandoned" and "dangerous." While I wouldn't for one moment condone
letting your property fall into total disrepair, I think we need to get back
to these three basics. If the paint isn't perfect, if a shingle's out
of place, is that going to render the entire community blighted? No,
but forcing the owner to spend money they don't have or possibly causing
them to lose their home will leave the house empty -- therefore no tax revenue
at all from it. In time things should (with all the new revenue sources
cropping up on the west side) get better, and with some tax relief the owner
could then invest the savings into their home. So, is it abandoned?
Open? Either of these would then deem it as dangerous, and the
property should be cited.
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Equal Enforcement: I know for a fact there's a particular piece of
property that fits the three deadly sins according to the Code Enforcement
Department: open, abandoned and dangerous. It's been that way for over
a decade, within walking distance from their offices, in plain view from
the street and as far as I know nothing has been done about it. But
I don't live near it, so I don't feel it's any concern of mine. I'll
stick to my own neighborhoods, and from what I can see they're doing just
fine. While this property is left as-is, I have a neighbor who was
complained about simply because he moved a truck restoration project out
of his garage and onto his gravel driveway. No big hazard, just someone
(who by the way was never made known to the target of the citation) who decided
to carry out a personal agenda. I also personally know of a case that
was thrown out of court because the inspector had trespassed onto personal
property to take pictures of what was alleged to be "illegal parking of vehicles"
-- all it did was run off a good tax-paying citizen, more of which we can
always use here.
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Let the neighborhood set the standards: If what I hear is true we
have people with nothing better to do than drive around someone else's
neighborhood and find things to gripe about. While there are some things
that should be addressed (as in "what's visible from the street", or "the
neighbor(s) complain") I don't think it's the place of the Unified Government
or any hired official of the same to snoop around in other people's back
yards. One measure I'd like to see is that the individual complaining
should be no farther than 750 feet from the issue OR the issue is in plain
sight from a public thoroughfare. Our area (Wyandotte County) is far
too diverse to have a "one size fits all" set of codes for even residential
property. Someone living north of Parallel Parkway has no place complaining
about things in someone's back yard in Rosedale, for instance. This
"Action Center" anonymous reporting of code violations is a crock -- how
do you know it's even someone in Wyandotte County making the call? In
a court of law you have the right to face your accusers. But if someone
calls in a "tip" you have no idea who your accuser is, and don't tell me
the inspector is your accuser -- that don't fly with me.
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Enablers, not prosecutors: OK, say the inspector finds a discrepancy
with your property. It should be their duty to assist you in obtaining
information on what needs to be done, who can do it and in the case of those
who can't do the work themselves what agencies can assist the homeowner.
I've seen the citations they send out: far too vague, no information
on exactly what's permitted and what's not, and in some cases no follow-up.
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This isn't JoCo: An article in the Kansan said regarding standards
that "gravel driveways aren't considered an "improved surface"" -- that's
not what I was told right at the front desk by one of your employees at Indian
Springs. The article went on to state that gravel doesn't stay in place,
it washes into the streets and so on. Get real! Until the UG
decides to subsidize concrete or asphalt (like they subsidize everything
in the world for newcomers building here) gravel or crushed reclaimed asphalt
driveways are here to stay. At the house I'm trying to get ready to
renovate it would take around a 120 foot long driveway to reach from the
street to my garage. Now I'm not doing too bad (I have been able to
afford both the mortgage on this house and the mortgage on the house I'm
living in at the same time) but that driveway's just not going to be high
on my list of priorities, especially given how the house needs a new roof
and insulation -- I don't want to be struggling to keep the rain and snow
out while I pay a $400-a-month heating bill. What's next -- requiring
those stupid shake shingle roofs (also known as "bonfire kindling") JoCo
is so famous for in new construction? Another remark was made about
working on your car in the driveway. Until every house in Wyandotte
County gets a garage installed (free of charge to the residents, of course)
we're going to have "shade tree mechanics". I'm definitely not supporting
people making their front yard look like a salvage yard, but once again let
me say times aren't too good right now, and working on their car in the driveway
might be the difference between having transportation that gets you to the
job (where you earn money to pay the UG's budget) and not having a job.
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Common Sense: Did it really make sense to cite someone for needing to paint
their house in January (when the average temperature isn't even close to
acceptable outdoor painting temperatures)? If it needed painting at
that time it probably needed painting the previous summer or fall -- or it
could wait until spring. I have yet to see a house that just needed
painting become "open", "abandoned" or "dangerous."
Some will argue that keeping strict oversight of code compliance keeps
neighborhood standards up. Maybe, but if I had to choose between more
law enforcement and more code enforcement, I'd prefer to have fewer code
inspectors and more cops.
Until times aren't so tight the UG needs to keep resident's pocketbooks in
mind when it comes to code enforcement.
Take Care,
KS
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