Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/02/1997

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" ~';;iE'. Eyes on the Street: Citizen Involvement Code Enforcement . In By Megan Lewis, Alep When it comes to enforcing zoning, property maintenance, or building codes, no community has it easy. Staying on top of the situation often demands considerable staff time ai'ld depends on routine inspections. It also depends on periodiq.complaints by neighbors. While Iqcal governments are responsible for enforcement, not all have the resources they need to make inspections for violations. Large communities may have separate departments for zoning, building code, and property maintenance compliance, each with several full-time scaff able to police their respective ordinances. Smaller communities may be better controlled due to violations being more evident to officials. However, many communities have neither the luxury of a large staff nor easily detected violations. For them, information about code violations often comes from the I general public. c ~ o ?;- U Broken Window Theory Citizen involvement in code enforcement often is catalyzed when people notice signs of neighborhood blight, a phenomenon also called the broken window theory. First presented in a March 1982 Atlantic Monthly article by James Q. Wilson, a professor of political science at the University of California at Los Angeles, th~ theory hypothesizes that one broken window in ..il building, left unrepaired, will soon cause all the rest to be broken. As Schilling and Hare (see "Resources~ box, page 4) note in their text on code enforcement, "Neglected property allowed to remain in such a condition is a signal to the community that no one cares." A negative neighborhood environment can lead to disregard for other aspects of property maintenance and code compliance, which sometimes precedes incidences of crime and disorder. Citizens concerned about the safety and quality of life in their neighborhood may decide they want to fix the broken window rather than watch this domino effect occur. Where code compliance is a major public concern, volunteerism can be harnessed as a powerful element of an enforcement program. Creating a formally recognized volunteer program can establish direct access between concerned citizens and the municipal service providers, fostering teamwork, and can direct citizen energy to carefully designed programs, producing tangible results. SEPTEMBER 1997 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION II focus on a variety of enforcement goals. This issue of Zoning News surveys programs in three communities-Minneapolis, San Diego, and San Mateo, California. Organizatio11. Started in 1991, the Minneapolis Citizen Inspection Program is a cooperative effort between participating neighborhoods and the inspections division of the department of regulatory services. Volunteers focus on specific housing maintenance and zoning code violations. The program's qualitative objectives include stemming further neighborhood blight and fostering community involvement in neighborhood upkeep. lt~~~~~~~jI~~~ Where code compliance is a major public concern, volunteerism can be harnessed as a powerful element of an enforcement program. Residents are often concerned that disregard for aspects of property maintenance and code compliance will create a breeding ground for crime and disorder. Volunteer Programs Some communities have encouraged formal involvement by instituting citizen-based inspection programs. These programs lko ., ,. -- ~"'''4;:'~~> Through San Mateo's code enforcement division, homeowners associations, business associations, and other citizen groups can actively participate in improving their city's conditions. This community of 96,000, located south of San Francisco, has more than 40 homeowners associations, many of which interact with the city to correct code violations. A five- member communiry improvement commission, composed of citizens, works with the division to conduce formal training of these volunteers. Started in 1987, San Diego's volunteer code enforcement program was developed through active solicitation of existing community planning groups, town councils, and volunteer policing groups to form code enforcement committees. These committees were formed to support enforcement against minor eyesore violations that could be easily remedied by the violator.