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<br />
<br />Resources
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<br />selves off as inspectors,
<br />and asking to enter the
<br />residence. Now, when a
<br />citizen inspector program
<br />is starting in a Minneapo-
<br />lis neighborhood, the
<br />department sends an
<br />informational letter to all
<br />residents, telling them that
<br />they may notify the
<br />department about
<br />particular concerns. The
<br />letter also says that
<br />inspectors carry specific
<br />identification.
<br />As Sharron Carr, San
<br />Diego's neighborhood
<br />code compliance program
<br />manager, noted at the
<br />1997 national planning
<br />conference, "You do have
<br />to control the amount of
<br />information given to the
<br />volunteers and monitor
<br />their activities. You need to be sure that they ale truly being
<br />community volunteers and not vigilantes."
<br />Liability is also a concern. The San Diego and Minneapolis
<br />programs require that the volunteers sign formal agreements.
<br />The San Diego agreement, made between the city and the
<br />individual volunteer, states the city will defend and indemnify
<br />the volunteer in any claim or action arising from actions within
<br />her scope of duties as a volunteer. The agreement also outlines
<br />the volunteer's specific work schedule, and qualifies her to
<br />receive the city's worker's compensation coverage for any action
<br />that occurs while volunteering.
<br />In Minneapolis, the city enters into an agreement with the
<br />neighborhood association establishing the citizen inspection
<br />program. The agreement identifies the specific services to be
<br />performed by the neighborhood association and the inspections
<br />division. It also lays out the procedures for the program,
<br />including the specific violations to be observed and
<br />documented and how the notification process occurs. It
<br />includes language indicating that volunteers are subcontractors
<br />and not city employees, and that no liability lies with the city
<br />for any wrongful acts. When one neighborhood group violated
<br />its contract with the city by hiring subcontractors to inspect for
<br />violations, the inspections division removed the group from
<br />eligibility for future inspection programs.
<br />Often these programs have limited or no funding for the
<br />volunteers. To encourage participation, coordinators devise
<br />
<br />Deems, Nyal D., and N.
<br />Stevenson Jennette III.
<br />"Zoning Enforcement
<br />Actions by Local
<br />Governments." A Practical
<br />Guid~ to Winning Land Us~
<br />Approvals and Ptrmits,
<br />Chapter 8. New York:
<br />Matthew Bender &
<br />Company, 1990.
<br />Kelly, Eric Damian. Enforcing
<br />Zoning and Land Us~
<br />Controls. PAS Report No.
<br />409. Chicago: APA, August
<br />1988.
<br />Schilling, Joseph M. and
<br />James B. Hare. Code
<br />Enforcement: A
<br />Comprehensive Approach.
<br />Point Arena, Calif.: Solano
<br />Press Books, 1994.
<br />
<br />ZtJning N~ws is a monthl)' newsletter published by the American Planning Association.
<br />Subscriptions arc available for 550 (U.S.) and 565 (foreign). Frank S. So. Executive Direcror;
<br />William R. Klein. Direcror of Research.
<br />
<br />Zoning News is produced at APA. Jim Schwab. Editor; Shannon Armstrong. L)"nerre Bowden.
<br />Chris Burke. Mike Davidson. Fay Dolnick. Sanjay Jeer. Megan Lewis. Marra Morris. Manin
<br />Roupe. Jason Winenberg. Reponers: Cynthia Cheski. Assistant Editor: Lisa Banon. Design and
<br />Production.
<br />
<br />CopyrighrlC>1997 by American Planning Association. 122 S. Michigan Ave.. Suite 1600.
<br />Chicago. IL 60603. The American Planning Association has headqual[ers ollices at 1776
<br />Massachusetts Ave.. N.W.. Washington. DC 20036.
<br />
<br />All rights reserved. No pan of rhis publica. ion may be reproduced or u.ilized in an)" form or by
<br />an)' means, electronic or mechanical. including photocopying. recording. or by an,. information
<br />storage and retrieval system. without permission in writing from the American Planning
<br />Association.
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<br />Primed on recycled paper. including 50-70% recycled fiber
<br />and 10% POStconsumer waste.
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<br />
<br />creative means of compensation. In San Diego, volunteers who
<br />work at least 12 hours a month with the city can receive a
<br />reduced-rate bus pass. At Code Enforcement Week events,
<br />volunteers are recognized and thanked for their efforts. San
<br />Mateo runs a homeowner recognition program, which
<br />recogni~es well-maintained residential and commercial
<br />propertIes.
<br />Despite these challenges, the program coordinators say it is
<br />worth it. "Our program is an invaluable tool to get people to
<br />feel more part of the neighborhood and understand the
<br />challenges the enforcement department faces," says Linnell. As
<br />for San Mateo, Nickolas says, "While there are costs in the
<br />short term, in the long run this type of program will only help
<br />the city improve. Citizen involvement is the key to making a
<br />better community." In San Diego, Rogers says, "Our volunteers
<br />have pride in their community. They also sing the praises of the
<br />enforcement office to the city council, before we have to."
<br />
<br />ZOIV/HGR?j20rts
<br />
<br />Ohio Farmland Preservation
<br />Task Force: Findings and
<br />Recommendations
<br />Ohio Department of Agricultur~, 8995 East Main St., Rrynoldsburg.
<br />OH 43068.31 pp. 1997. Available online at www.state.oh.uslagr.
<br />For fUrther infOrmation, caU ODA at 614-752-9817.
<br />Ohio is one of only four states with more than half of its
<br />land classified as prime agricultural land. The industry and its
<br />allied food-processing components are worth $56.2 billion and
<br />provide one in six jobs in the state. Despite this, farmland is
<br />rapidly being converted to urban development, with conversion
<br />rates outstripping population growth by a five-to-one margin.
<br />The task force that produced this report, under the aegis of an
<br />executive order from Gov. George Voinovich, has detailed the
<br />problem in fairly cautious terms and structured its
<br />recommendations within existing state policies and initiatives in
<br />order to facilitate their adoption and implementation. The
<br />report calls for all local governments to review their local zoning
<br />for compliance with state farmland preservation goals and
<br />suggests mechanisms for the state to encourage local
<br />governments to prepare comprehensive land-use plans, but stops
<br />short of any significant departures from traditional Ohio
<br />approaches to growth management.
<br />
<br />Risks and Rewards of
<br />Brownfield Redevelopment
<br />
<br />James G. Wright. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 113 Brattle St.,
<br />Cambridge, MA 02138.32 pp. 1997. $14 (25 percent discount
<br />fOr 10 or more) plus $3.50 shipping and handling on first copy,
<br />$.50 each additional copy.
<br />Zoning is hardly the only obstacle to the redevelopment of
<br />brown fields, but it is part of the web of environmental, land-
<br />use, and financial liability laws that entangle efforts to put such
<br />lands back into productive use. This report, based on a
<br />conference in Cleveland in March 1996, explores the various
<br />issues highlighted by speakers the Lincoln Institute engaged to
<br />debate this complicated topic, including the impact of
<br />brownfield abandonment on urban sprawl.
<br />
<br />LY1
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