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<br />The committees' purpose is to identify neighborhood issues,
<br />prioritize alleged violations within the neighborhoods, and try
<br />to obtain voluntary compliance without referring the case to the
<br />city staff. Since the program began, 30 volunteer groups have
<br />received training and are currently involved in varying levels of
<br />code compliance activities.
<br />Coordination. Each of the programs has a specific city staff
<br />person who serves as the volunteer coordinator, either
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<br />Illegal parking of inoperable vehicles is one issue citizen
<br />inspection programs often address.
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<br />exclusively or along with other departmental duties. The
<br />Minneapolis coordinator, Vonnie Linnell, is a housing inspector
<br />within the inspections division of the department of regulatory
<br />services. In San Diego, Ty Rogers is the communiry volunteer
<br />coordinator, working within the Neighborhood Code
<br />Compliance Department (NCCD). San Mateo's coordinator,
<br />Leon Nickolas, is part of the code enforcement division, whose
<br />pr~gram addresses municipal code violations causing a public
<br />nUIsance.
<br />Recruitment. Citizens become involved in inspection
<br />programs in a variety of ways. In San Diego, the program
<br />initially contacted existing citizen groups to identify
<br />participants. San Mateo's homeowners associations contact the
<br />city themselves to find out how they can participate in
<br />correcting violations.
<br />To become involved in the Minneapolis program,
<br />neighborhood associations send a letter of interest to the
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<br />. ; '. Contacts for Volunteer Pro.9rams ~~: .~:~
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<br />Atlanta; Thomas Williams, Atlanta Bureau of
<br />Housing, 404-330-6190.
<br />Minneapolis; Vonnie Linnell, Housing Inspector II,
<br />612-673-5854.
<br />San Diego; Ty Rogers, Senior Planner, San Diego
<br />Neighborhood Code Compliance Department,
<br />619-527-5467.
<br />San Mateo; Leon Nickolas, Code Enforcement
<br />Officer, 415-377-3366.
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<br />inspections division. The division reviews these letters and
<br />selects neighborhoods according to various criteria, such as their
<br />past participation rate and current problems. To participate in
<br />the coming summer program, neighborhood associations must
<br />send a letter of interest each winter. After making its selections,
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<br />the division sends information packets about starting a citizen
<br />inspection program to the chosen associations, which then select
<br />individual volunteers.
<br />Education. To the average citizen, there is not an immediate
<br />distinction among zoning ordinance, property maintenance
<br />code, and building code violations. They identify a situation
<br />that they want corrected. For example, a junk car that has been
<br />parked in someone's driveway for a while becomes an eyesore to
<br />the neighborhood, and residents want it removed. Program
<br />coordinators understand this situation. While citizens may be
<br />identifying violations of the zoning, property maintenance, and/
<br />or building code, coordinators discuss various violation issues
<br />under the general umbrella of code violations.
<br />Nonetheless, volunteers are taught to look for specific types of
<br />violations to prevent them from becoming ad hoc enforcers.
<br />Volunteers in San Diego are educated on how the municipal code
<br />regulates garage sales, signs in the public rights-of-way, and parking
<br />of recreational vehicles in residential areas, among other issues.
<br />San Mateo volunteers learn both what violations to look for
<br />and how to look for them. Leon Nickolas stresses during
<br />training that citizens "have to be able to see the violation from
<br />the sidewalk" to prevent trespassing situations.
<br />Trai1ting. Before citizens hit
<br />the streets, they must
<br />participate in a formal training
<br />session. In Minneapolis,
<br />training always occurs in the
<br />spring because the program
<br />runs from May 1 to September
<br />30. Volunteers are trained by
<br />both neighborhood association
<br />members and inspections
<br />division personnel. Training is
<br />held either on a Saturday or
<br />during a weekday evening and
<br />includes exercises, slide
<br />presentations, and field work.
<br />Saturday training lasts about
<br />four hours; evening training is compressed into three hours.
<br />In San Mateo, training sessions are conducted by
<br />representatives from the community improvement and code
<br />enforcement commissions. They explain to volunteers how they
<br />can conduct external inspections of residential properties to
<br />detect public nuisances or code violations.
<br />Before starting their volunteer activities, all San Diego
<br />participants receive a three-hour training session on the zoning
<br />code, identifying and setting priorities for violations,
<br />communication skills, and cultural diversity issues. Ty Rogers
<br />conducts approximately eight training sessions per year.
<br />In addition to their training, volunteers in San Diego receive
<br />a manual that describes the parameters within which the
<br />volunteers may operate, general procedures for identifying and
<br />addressing violations, and information necessary to identify
<br />violations accurately. Diagrams and information sheets provide
<br />quick references to common situations such as recreational
<br />vehicle storage, garage sales, and satellite antennas. At the
<br />beginning of the manual, a "Hints for Success" section gives
<br />volunteers quick reminders, such as not to overtly explain the
<br />rules or conduct code enforcement in their own neighborhoods.
<br />They are reminded that they do not have to know all the
<br />specifics of a code violation. Their materials include contact
<br />information for the different code compliance agencies that
<br />should be notified.
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<br />~..i~~~~iit~~~~f'D.
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<br />Volunteers are
<br />taught to look for
<br />specific types of
<br />violations to
<br />prevent them
<br />from becoming
<br />ad hoc enforcers.
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