THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070196
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 59 lines
Inspectors will hit the streets of South Norfolk next month, checking for City Code violations ranging from abandoned, rusted-out cars to overgrown weeds.
Their scrutiny is part of the Neighborhood Preservation Program, Chesapeake's newest attempt to help South Norfolk residents clean up their community.
Each month beginning July 1, city inspectors will pick a new, 10-block section of South Norfolk, said John T. King, environmental coordinator for the city's Inspections Department.
Residents will be given a couple of weeks' notice to fix any problems. Then inspectors will begin checking the neighborhood and issuing notices to property owners who have violations.
Inspectors will be looking for breaches of the city zoning and building maintenance codes. They'll also check for violations of specific ordinances, such as those prohibiting people from abandoning junk cars or allowing vacant lots to become overgrown with weeds. They'll look for fire and safety hazards, such as broken windows, and will check to see that abandoned buildings are either kept up to standards or razed.
South Norfolk residents have complained for years that one obstacle to the renewal of their aging community has been property owners who refuse to maintain their buildings and land according to city codes.
Until now, King's office has operated on a complaint basis; when residents report concerns about a specific property, inspectors go out and check for violations. Citywide, King said, his department receives about 35 complaint calls a day.
The Neighborhood Preservation Program, which the City Council approved in April, is a more aggressive approach.
``This is a concentrated effort in the South Norfolk area to speed up the process,'' King said.
Still, the program has limits.
Inspectors, for example, will stop short of insisting that buildings be painted tasteful colors or that landscaping be attractive.
``We don't have anything to do with how pretty the buildings are,'' King said. ``Aesthetics are not what we're enforcing.''
Also, inspectors will not check behind fences or inside buildings.
``It is an exterior inspection from public right of ways,'' he said. ``We're not going to march through people's backyards without their permission.''
When inspectors observe a violation, they'll notify the property owners and give them 10-30 days to correct the problem, depending on the severity, King said. Property owners can request extensions.
``We don't mind giving extensions, as long as we can see an end in sight and that they're working to get the problem resolved,'' King said.
Inspectors can take uncooperative property owners to court. ``That's a last resort,'' King said. ``We spend a lot of time in court, and a lot of times working with the individuals to get these problems resolved is quicker. Ninety percent of the time, it works.'' MEMO: For more information about the Neighborhood Preservation Program,
call the Inspections Department, 547-6248. by CNB